You Don't Get It
by Those Who Can't Be Named
Summary: Alexandra was in Hong Kong during the crusade when Zelman found her. She had lost her parents, and in a spur of the moment decision he decided to keep her. Now he has to deal with a red blood who is experiencing emotions he had never dealt with before, and as she deals with them herself she's starting to realize that he doesn't get it, and maybe never will. Eventual Zelman/OC
1. Chapter 1

Blood was a side effect of life. You couldn't go your whole life without seeing some blood eventually. The red liquid is every where, and leaves stains. This is what she hated about the color red. She hated it because she hated blood. It was every where, tainting the world with it's vile smell. She had seen enough blood in her life to know that if she could help it she never wanted to see it again.

Of course, fate is funny like that.

.

They were everywhere. They destroyed everything in their paths and they still weren't satisfied. They wanted to drink the blood of any and all living creatures, and they wouldn't relent their brutal aussults until they were taken out. Families were taken out, even as they tried to evacuate, they couldn't save everyone. Not by a long shot.

Children were the top priority. Save the children, then the woman. Men were last, and they fought vigorously to protect their home. Sadly, even the will of man wouldn't protect them from what was attacking their home. Nothing they could do would ever protect them from this rutheless menace plaguing their town of Hong Kong.

The Kowloon Children.

This is the town in which a war has been waged between vampires, and wherever there is a war, there is Zelman Clock. The ancient vampire had fun with war, and wouldn't abandon the chance to fight. Hong Kong was a great place to be for him. But, like every other thing, he found himself becoming bored with it.

As he was on his way home, he heard something. This sound wasn't exactly new to him. Through out his long life he had heard it many times. The reason it suprised him was that he heard it here, where all humans were supposed to have been evacuated from. It was the sound of a little girl crying. He looked around trying to find the noise, but couldn't see where it was coming from. No wonder she was still alive. He couldn't see her anywhere.

He walked around in the immediate area, flipping things over trying to find the source of the noise. Where the hell was she? He made his way to a dumpster in an ally when the noise suddenyl stopped. She had probably heard him coming. He opened the lid only to see the whole thing empty. No garbage even. He furrowed his brow in confusion. How was a human girl evading his senses like this?

He shut the lid and contemplated where she could be hiding. He had to be getting close. He decided to look behind it, seeing as there was no way she was under it. He would have just given up, had he not seen the shoe. It was more like a pink slipper suited for the small girl. He pushed the dumpster out of the way with ease. There was a hole in the wall, and in that hole rested the maker of the noise.

She couldn't have been much older than five years old, with sandy blonde hair and large silver eyes. He found himself gawking for a second before snapping out of it. Her eyes were definately something. He tried smiling at the little girl, but it came out more as a smirk, which seemed to only scare her more.

"What's a little girl like you doing here in a bad place like this?" She was staring wide eyed at the man before her. She saw them when he smiled; the fangs. They were like the people that killed her mother and father. He was a bad guy, so why was he talking to her?

"W-Who... Why are you here?" She had issues talking to that.. thing? Man? What on earth was he and why was he talking to here. he smiled again, and she cringed.

"I'm here to help you of course." She gave hima skeptical look.

"Aren't you a bad guy?" He laughed at that. The sound was melodic and she found herself wanting to trust him, but she was still wary.

"I guess you could say that." He took a couple steps closer to the girl. "But I want to help you."

She gave him another look.

"I promise, as long as you're with me, I will not let you get hurt." She looked at him for a second longer, then pulled herself out of the hole. She tried to stand, but when she tried a terrible pain shot through her left ankle. She started to fall foward, but he caught her and picked her up, holding her in front of him to take a look at her for injuries.

"You sprained your left ankle, but otherwise you just have some cuts and bruises." He threw her over his shoulder and started walking. "I'll carry you back home. Don't move around too much. I might just drop you." That threat was enough for her to stop moving all together. She wrapped her arms around his waste and closed her eyes.

"Ok, you can go now." He found himself slightly suprised by her actions, and his own for that matter, but she was interesting. Had he not found her she may have been able to make it to the end of the war with that hiding spot of hers. They obviously emptied out dumpsters and other hiding spots that were similar. Had he not heard her he would even had found her.

He smirked and made his way to the home, using his inhuman speed and agility. Through out the short journey he heard small whimpers every now and then but otherwise she was completely still and silent. He found himself being amused by her actions in trying to be tough. She was an intersting little girl to say the least, and he enjoyed her company so far.

Once he made it to the front steps he brought her off of his shoulder and carried her bridal style into his current home. She glanced around, eyes wide as she took it all in. His voice is what broke her out of her observing.

"Do you have any family nearby?" She gave him a look.

"What do you mean?"

"Family? You know, the people who are related to you? Mother, father, sister, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and things of the like. Do you have any nearby?" She was still giving him a funny look. "What?"

"That's what you call your mom and dad? Family?" Now it was his turn for the funny look. "I never heard of that. They were always just mom and dad. And I never saw them much, either. I never had anything like an aunt or whatever you said. At least, I don't think so."

This girl was just getting weirder and weirder. But now he had to wonder what he wasn't going to do with the girl. Maybe he should ask her where she wanted to go? No, she wouldn't understand. Should he keep her with him? Dear god, the Crimson Eyed Butcher raising a child?

"Hey, mister? What's your name?" She was tugging on his shirt to get his attention. He looked down at her, as he set her on a couch in the room witht he TV. He enjoyed the Television mostly because it gave him something to do when he was bored, which was often, so he made it a point to keep one or two in the house.

"My name is Zelman Clock."

"That's a funny name." He felt his eye twitch at the comment. It was an old name, sure, but it wasn't a _funny_ one.

"And what's your name?"

"Alexandra," she said with a large smile. Well that wasn't fair, he couldn't make fun of it.

"And your last name?" She gave him a look that said she didn't know what he was talking about. Again. What was with this girl? She didn't know what family was and now she doesn't know what a last name is? Now that's just weird. What kind of parents did she have? "Never mind, Alexandra. If it's ever an issue, you'll just use mine."

"Am I stuck with you for the rest of my life?" He would have found the statement funny had she not said it with so much disgust. What was so bad about living with him? Most women would kill for an opportunity to live with him and she was _upset? _But then again, she's a kid. She doesn't know any better yet.

"Only if you want to be." She nodded.

"Hey, how old are you?" He was walking into the room next door to grab some cokes out of the fridge.

"I'm seven!" She held up her fingers to emphasis her point, but unfortunately she held up eight. He walked up to her and put down one of her fingers, then handed her a coke.

She took it gladly and watched him as he went to sit down. She observed him and a thought cam to mind.

"You're pretty," she smiled widely. He nearly spit out his coke. He had been clled many things in his long life, but he never once was he called 'pretty.'

"Thanks," and with that he turned ont he TV. Upon seeing the news of hong kong he muted the TV. He didn't want her to see or hear it. He made his way back over to Alexandra and with one finger under her chin. Once she made eye contact he had her under his spell.

"Sleep," He whispered. Without much of a fight she fell asleep, and he was free to watch the news. As he heard the people on the news speak of the war they knew nothing about, he felt himself smile. This was interesting indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alexandra," he whispered. She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Alexandra," he whispered again. She didn't even move this time, and just continued glaring at the wall in front of her. Something about it was very interesting apparently, but Zelman knew that anything other than his face was interesting right about now.

"Do you want cookies?" He saw her resolve weakened ever so slightly, but she didn't stop glaring at the wall. This was almost like a game to him, trying to get on this girls good side. He was kind of shocked that she was still angry about him knocking her out like he did, but it made life more interesting. It was nice to have a girl that wasn't fawning over him.

"Maybe some brownies?" She didn't even flinch this time.

"Do you have any real food?" That shocked him a bit. He was under the impression that children would rather have sweets more than anything, but real food was good too. Besides, he got her to speak to him.

"Alright, what would you like?" She smiled wide at the question.

"Ramen!"

.

"Thank you!" Her smile was wide as she ate ramen with a vigor that he had never seen before in such a small red blood.

"How long has it been since you last ate?" She tilted her head up in thought.

"I think it was two days. They evacuated us about a week ago but my parents wouldn't let us leave. After a couple days my parents tried to get us out because they realized it wasn't safe but when we did they got attacked. They told me to run and hide but my foot got caught in a hole in the road and that's how I sprained it. Then I found the hole in the wall and I fell asleep there and woke up the next morning."

He gave her an odd look, but she was too occupied with her ramen to notice. Her parents were an odd little couple, to say the least. No last name, no family, not evacuating when the city tells you to, then later realizing they were right and trying to vacuate on their own? This girl must have had an interesting childhood, and he wanted to know more about it.

"What were your parents like?" He asked as he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a snap of his finger. She noticed his little trick, and her eyes grew wide.

"Do that again!" He gave her a quizical look.

"Do what?" She got out of her chair and moved around the table to get closer.

"The sparky trick." He raised an eyebrow. "Make fire!"

He chuckled at her and her interest with his powers. She wasn't the first, but her eagerness was amusing none the less. He lit a flame at the tip of his index finger and laughed as she watched with undivided attention. Then he looked at the napkins on the table and lit it on fire with his eye ignite. She was laughing and clapping as she watched him perfom his 'tricks.'

It didn't take him long to realize she had completely evaded his question and he wasn't sure whether or not she did it on purpose. After she figured out he was done she made her way back to her seat and continued eating.

"You never answered my question." She sighed loudly as she started stirring her ramen around in the bowl.

"I know..."

_She did do it on purpose. What a sly little fox, _he thought with amusement.

"They weren't very nice. They never got me toys they never let me play games and I always had to call them by their first names. They kept talking all about how they were special or something. They once said that one day they were going to be big and powerful, but they never explained why or how. They had this special room in the house that I was never allowed to go in. I tried a couple times because I heard weird noises coming from inside but they always caught me."

He was a little shocked at what she said. He figured they were weird, but that was beyond what he thought. They obviously didn't see their daughter as their daughter. They saw her as something else, but what he didn't know. Maybe they were interested in witchcraft or something of the like. That was a strange hobby red bloods tended to get into, wasn't it?

"What else did they do?" He was intrigued as to what this little girl had gone through, and was even more intrigued as to why the parents even had her. Something in the back of his mind told him that she wasn't actually their daughter, but something they acquired in their quest for being 'big and powerful.'

"They told me I wasn't allowed to play with the other kids. They said I was too different and they wouldn't like me, but I don't think that's true. I mean, you like me, don't you?" She gave him a hopeful look and he smiled in return as his cigarette hung limply from his lips.

"Ya, I guess you could say that."

.

"So let's say I'm the princess, and you're the big bad guy! And you abduct the prince and try to take him away but I stop you, then me and the prince live happily ever after!" She was wearing a dress he had found for her. The clothing she had been wearing when he found her was dirty and ripped, so he went and found her some new clothes to help her feel more comfortable.

"What happens to me, then?" He asked with mild interest. Playing dress up wasn't really his thing, and he briefly wondered why he wasn't the prince and some random picture she had drawn was, but he would let that slide.

"You die, silly!" So the plan was he abducts the _prince_, runs off, is chased by the _princess_, is defeated by a red blood _woman_ and dies? This story was all backwards but he would play along for her sake. At least, for today.

It had been about a year since he had taken her in, and he had heard the news that a new special zone was under construction. He was mildly interested, but he was also beginning to realize that she was going to grow up eventually, and when she does she's going to want friends, and a... a... a boyfriend. He shuddered at the thought of another man touching what was rightfully his. If after a year of taking her in and almost raising her, he had the right to claim ownership.

He wasn't sure if she'd be excited to leave here, or be sad. She liked the house, he knew but he was starting to realize that she had already explored every corner of the building and was starting to get bored. She used to disappear for hours then only come back to eat or talk to him occasionally. He knew she needed friends, but he wasn't sure if she knew that.

"Alexandra," he said beckoned as she started to walk away to go draw another prince.

"Yes, Zelman?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and he was starting to realize her hair was getting a bit long as well. Maybe if they moved they could get it cut if she wanted to.

"How would you feel about moving?" She portrayed a lot of emotions in her eyes, and he could easily tell just by looking that she loved the idea.

"When do we go? How soon? To where? Can I get a new toy when we get there? Or, even better let's get ice cream!"

"It's in Japan. We'll leave in the morning, if you want." He didn't realize her eyes could get so wide but to see her so excited was definately something that made him smile.

"How about tonight! And can I drive?" He was slightly taken aback by that question. She would be lucky if she could see over the steering wheel of his car. It was a porsche with deeply tinted windows so that the sun wouldn't bother him. Originally he didn't see the point in owning a car of any sort but he couldn't just carry her everywhere and he knew eventually she would want to start going places.

"Maybe if you can see over the wheel." She nodded vigorously, excited to be doing something different than running around the same old house.

"Go get your dresses and something to do for the ride and we'll get going." She nodded and ran towards the door, but then stopped adruptly. She turned on her heel and gave him a sheepish look.

"Can we eat first?"


	3. Chapter 3

"But I don't want to cut it!" She shouted at the man before her. Alexandra was pissed off beyond reason. Cut her pretty, long, sandy colored hair? How could he even consider making her do that? She had let it grow since she met him, which had been five years ago, and she was proud of its length. It was down almost to the back of her knees and he was starting to notice how it kept getting in the way.

"It doesn't have to be short, just to about here." He poked her side and she squealed from how much it tickled. She hated it when he did that. She also hated it when he tried telling her what to do. She wasn't a little kid anymore and he didn't have to keep bossing her around like he does. Besides, she remembered him saying he liked girls with long hair.

"I don't want to cut it, Zelman!" He sighed in defeat.

"Fine, Alexandra. If that's what you really want then don't let me get in the way." She felt herself well up with pride at getting him to see it her way and he would finally leave her alone. She was about to find her way through the house and do some exploring when she realized that her hair had gotten tangled and it was bothering her. She turned back to Zelman.

"Zelman?"

"Why do you always turn back to me when you try to walk away?" He mused. "It makes your point far less effective." She would have retorted had she not wanted a favor.

"Could you brush my hair? It's hard for me to brush because it's too long." He felt his brow twitch.

"That's it you're getting it cut, end of discussion." She wanted to fight back, but he had already flung her over his shoulder and was walking down the hall with her kicking and screaming. She was hitting his back with as much strength as she could, but for obvious reasons it had no effect.

"I'll get you ice cream if you stop that." She growled into his back.

"I'm not eight anymore. You can't bribe me with such petty things!"

"I'll get you ice cream for the rest of the week." She hated that he knew her so well.

"Fine."

.

"It's so short!" Really it wasn't. It went right below her shoulder blades, and she knew it was better this way, because now she could manage it better, but she still liked it longer. In the time that he had known her, her sandy locks had gone from large curls to slight waves that gave her a more sophisticated look. She had really grown up over the years, with her baby fat completely diminishing and her legs becoming longer. When she was all grown up, there was no doubt she was going to be a beautiful woman.

"It really isn't, Alexandra. It looks nice." She faltered for a second before continuing to walk in step with him in silence. He smiled, knowing that would shut her up.

"Zelman?" He glanced at her to show he was listening. "When was the last time you fed?" Without missing a beat he answered.

"Last night." The reaction he got from her definately wasn't expected. Certainly she knew that he had to feed on human blood in order to survive? Sure he never left the unconcious bodies laying around and he never let her walk in on him when he was feeding but she acted like it was a foreign concept to her. Now that he thought about it, it probably was. They'd never once talked about it.

"Really? So recently? On who? Was it a man or a woman? Did they do it willingly? Did you kill them?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her over to a bench and sat her down. He leaned over in front of her so that they were eye level.

"Did you talk to the people at the company about vampires feeding?" She shook her head. "I see. I'll explain a couple things to you. I can go three months without feeding because I am an old blood, but I am considerably weaker when that happens, so I feed regularly."

"How regularly?" He was starting to wonder if she could stomach all of this. He didn't even get through all of the details and she was starting to look queasy.

"Regularly is all you need to know. I don't kill people when I feed on them, and I don't feed without their consent because it's not very hard to get their consent." This is the part where it gets tricky.

"How is it so easy?"

"When a vampire bites someone, it's extrememly pleasurable. Far beyond that of even sex. So I have plenty of women willing to give me what I need." She stared at him blankly, and he realized something. She didn't understand sex. He never taught her (and had no intentions of teaching her) and her parents had probably never taught her because she was only seven. He never thought of that possibility.

"What's sex?"

"I'm taking you to the company for that one. They can explain it to you there. Make sure you ask a woman."

She nodded.

.

After an interesting conversation with a company woman by the name of Mimiko, Alexandra found herself alone. Zelman wanted to take no part in that conversation, so after dumping her in their care he ran away faster than she had ever seen him move. It wasn't unusual for her to go visit the people in the company building. At first they didn't like her much because she lived with Zelman, but after a while they warmed up to her and they expected her to visit a couple times a week.

She liked going there to get away from Zelman when he was being difficult or just to be away from him in general. Being with one person all the time was boring, even when you liked the person as much as she liked him. She loved him in the sense that he saved her life and raised her for five years, but she was starting to wonder if it was developing into a full blown crush.

She didn't like the idea, but there was no one else around worth liking. All of the other kids were scared of her when she came and they never really got over it. After a while they buit up enough courage to be around her but whenever they were they would call her bad names. After one particularly bad time when someone pushed her and she skinned both her knees, Zelman felt the need to go "teach them a lesson."

When he got back, he said something that scared her. He said that she should move out, and go live with other red bloods. She asked why, and he never gave a straight answer. He tried scaring her out, but she was immune to most of what he did now. This all happened a couple months ago and she was still worried that he didn't want her around anymore but after she started crying and telling him she didn't want to leave he never brought it up again.

That was the first time he ever made her cry.

As she thought back on all her time with Zelman it was weird to think of not being with him. She didn't remember much of her parents at all except that they weren't very nice parents and that they never let her do anything fun. The more she thought about it the more she realized they never acted like parents and acted more like care takers that hated their job.

She felt a buzzing in her pocket as her phone started ringing, knowing it was Zelman. She flipped it open.

"Yes?" She really wasn't in the mood to talk to him right now.

"It's dark out. Where are you?"

"Not home."

"Don't be a smartass." He growled into the phone. She knew it was wrong, but she loved pushing his buttons.

"Fine, fine I'm at..." She glanced around her and realized that she wasn't entirely sure where she was at. She must of zoned out while she was walking and not noticed when she passed her street.

"What was that?"

"I'm lost."

He sighed on the other side of the phone. She was such a piece of work. Couldn't dealing with her ever be easy? No, if it was he would have lost interest a long time ago.

"I'll come get you."He went to hang up when she shouted into the phone.

"Wait!" He waited. "Just send Sayuka. It's not that dark yet, I'll wait on a corner where she'll be able to see me."

"I'll just come get you, Alexandra."

"No, send Sayuka."

He wanted to respond and tell her that she didn't have a say and then go get her to make sure she gets home safely, but that's not what she wanted. She wanted someone else. She wanted Sayuka of all people. She despised her with all of her heart, and he didn't understand what the feeling was, which frustrated him and when he got frustrated, he got angry.

"Fine, but you're calling her yourself." His words were laced with such venom that she cringed as he spoke them. She didn't want to make him angry, but she didn't understand why he was in the first place. She just didn't want to see him right now. She almost said sorry, but she realized he'd already hung up.

With a sigh, she dialed Sayuka's number.

.

Zelman didn't understand. She was almost never home anymore, and was spending all of her time outside. It's been this way for almost three years. It started off slowely, and originally he thought she would get over it, but then a month became a year, and a year became three, and after the first year he started to wonder whether or not he did something wrong.

That stupid feeling came back and he didn't know what it was! It kept nagging at him everytime he found out she wasn't home or when she called Sayuka to come find her instead of him or when she started spending all of her time at the company with the company girls or worse... the company men.

The idea of them touching her gave him that weird feeling that he still couldn't place. It wasn't anger, or boredom, or amusement. Far from amusement. But every time he got the feeling he didn't know why it was there, so he would get angry. Just thinking about her not being home made him want to throw something. Or someone.

Finally she was home and awake when he was, and he was going to have a talk with her. But unfortunately, she made it very clear she didn't want to talk to him. She never wanted to talk to him anymore, and he wasn't about to just let this slide. He was in her room with her and she was laying on the bed with a book.

She picked up the habit of reading fairly quickly when she realized their sleep schedules weren't the same. She had adjusted a bit at the beginning, waking up late in the after noon and going to sleep late the next night, making it easier for him to take care of her, but when she moved to the special zone she realized that everyone slept during the night and was awake during the day, so she adjusted back.

"Alexandra," he called out to her. She glanced at him before resuming what she was reading.

"Alexandra, why are you ignoring me?" She didn't respond, but she did close her book and sat up to look him in the eyes.

"Well?"

"Why did you save me?" He gave her a wide eyed look. She never questioned it before, so why would she start now?

"Why does it matter?" She let her lips tug up into a snarl. She climbed off the bed and stood in front of him. She stood about a head shorter than him still but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that he understood.

"The first year it was just you and me. I lived off of whatever easy made thing you could find. I rarely went outside because you rarely went outside. You and that house were pretty much my life." He nodded, even though he didn't understand where she was going with this.

"Then we moved here, and I had a chance to expand my world. It wasn't just you and me anymore. I got to talk to other people, but you want to know what I noticed? Because of you, I was different. Not only that I didn't know how to interact with other kids, but I was the little girl that hung out with the vampire. I was isolated, and when I was finally able to interact with other kids they hated me.

"You're different than the average person. You don't have or show very many emotions. I learned how to live and interact with a person like that. When I got here, I didn't understand things like being jealous. A girl at the company had to explain it to me. I read about things like love and hate and jealously and plenty of other emotions in books but feeling them for myself was a totally different thing and it frustrates me because I still don't fully understand it.

"Then when I had to talk to Mimiko about sex, I was so much more confused. There are all of these things that I missed out on because you had kept me under your wing and because I got so used to you, I didn't want to leave. I've been distancing myself from you because I need to learn these things. I need to be able to be around other people. I need to be away from you."

Then he started to understand it. That stupid feeling that kept coming back. The way he was feeling whenever she was gone. That knot in his stomach when she called Sayuka instead of him. He was lonely when she wasn't around, and he was jealous when she called anyone other than him. Worse, he was sad when she avoided him. He had considered her his for such a long time that when she didn't want to be his, he didn't know how to deal with it.

He still didn't know how to deal with it. He wasn't used to feeling things like this. He was so limited on emotions that when his subconsious started to expand, his conciousness couldn't keep up. It didn't change because he didn't know how to.

"Zelman," she whispered. "I don't think you know what it means to love something. You're possesive of me and consider me yours, but you don't love me. It's hard when I'm around you because I love you. You took good care of me, but you can never feel the same way. Maybe it would have been better for the both of us if you had just left me there. This is hard for me to talk about, and I need to be alone. So do me a favor, and get out."

He was stunned into silence. The gears in his head were spinning and he couldn't keep up with everything she had said. He needed time to think, and she wanted to be alone. So he nodded his head, turned on his heel, and left the room. When did keeping her around become so difficult?

As he shut the door, he heard a noise he hadn't heard in a long time. He hated hearing that noise, and it was then that he realized why he had picked her up and saved her. He realized why he kept her around and why he tried so hard to keep her safe. He hated to hear her cry. He would have done anything it took to keep her from crying.

And it hurt to know he was the reason she was crying.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Just to make things clear, Alexandra is now fifteen. This is where all of the fun begins because she's finally getting older and Zelman's going to go from taking care of her to picking on her like he does everyone else :3 She's also going to spend more time around the house and that'll be explained later. **

**Review please :)**

"Zelman?" She knocked on the door a few times. There was no response from the man on the other side, so she tried again.

"Zelman~" She knocked again just a little bit louder. Still he didn't reply. There was no noise coming from the other side of the door, so seh assumed he wasn't feeding. She wrapped her slim fingers around the cold door knob and turned it quietly. Still, she heard him say nothing. She pushed the door slowely and peeked inside. The room was lit slightly by candles, giving it a creepy aura. You'd think that after living with a vampire for eight years she'd be less scared of the dark, but it still scared her every time she went into the lower levels of the mansion.

She glanced at the could and saw his form lying on the couch. She pushed the door open all of the way and walked over to it, only to see him sleeping. This was new to her. She had never seen him asleep because everytime he went to sleep at the old house he would lock the door to keep her out.

For some odd reason he never wanted her around when he slept, so after a while she just let it go. Seeing him like this was definately interesting. She could see why he didn't want her to see him sleeping. When he slept he looked like a normal person, and he looked especially vulnerable. He probably dodn't want enyone to see him like that.

_Maybe I should leave before he wakes up,_she thought. Maybe coming in here wasn't such a good idea after all. But even as she thought of leaving, she found herself stepping closer to the point where she was now standing over him. He was still wearing his hat, which bothered her a bit. He didn't always where that hat. It was something he started doing when they moved to the special zone, and she hated it. She loved the way his hair looked and was mad that he kept covering it up. She reached for said hat and gripped it just enough to pull it off of his head with a quick movement, praying to god she didn't wake him.

When he stayed silent for a few seconds, she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, and smiled triumphantly. Now, to go burn it before he woke up. Just as she turned to handle said business, she felt something wrap around her wrist. Something that felt a lot like a hand.

_Crap._

"Alexandra," his voice was hoarse from having just woken up, but he still sounded asleep. It wasn't a groggy voice, it was more slurred and sleepy sounding. He sounded like he was talking in his sleep. She glanced back and saw that his face still had that peaceful look to it, and she became even more worried.

"Yes, Zelman?" She really needed to get out of here, but trying to pull her wrist away would surely wake him up.

"Stay with me," he mumbled into the pillow as he gave a rough tug on her wrist, effectively pulling her onto the couch with him. Her back was facing him as he pulled her against his body, putting them in a spooning position. Her face turned beat read and she was praying to god that he would wake up soon, but luck was not one of her strong points.

She started to panic when he began nuzzling her neck. She never took Zelman for the cuddling type, but once again, maybe that's why he never let her near him when he was sleeping. He must of just fallen asleep by accident because he would have locked the doors had he planned it. She tried to wiggle her way out of his grasp but his arm held firm, and pulled her tighter against him.

_Wake up, wake up, wake up! _In all her years living with him, the amount of physical contacthe was giving her right now was twice that of what she experienced over the past eight years. When he was concious he wasn't really a touchy-feely person as far as she knew. His lips started grazing her skin and the thought that me might actually bite her scared her out of her mind.

"You smell really nice, Alexandra..."

This was bad. This was really, really, _really _bad.

"Zelman, wake the hell up!" She shouted. There was a pause, then she felt his entire body stiffen. She was imagining his face and the way he probably looked right now. Totally, completely, and utterly shocked.

"When did you get here?" He sounded awake now. This made her feel much better.

"Not too long ago." She felt his heaad move and assumed that he was nodded. He wasn't very vocal when he just wakes up.

"I see," he mumbled. He definately hadn't expected to wake up to Alexandra being here. He definately didn't expect for her to be in his arms.. Wait, she was in his arms. In a small burst of confusion and slight alarm he pushed her violently off the couch, causing her to yelp as she hit the floor.

"Zelman you asshole!" She hissed as she pushed herself off of the floor. She was kneeling in front of him and he was sitting straight as a board.

"Why would you come in here while I was sleeping?" He seemed just as pissed as she was, but for totally different reasons. She was pissed he did those things to her and then pushed her off the couch, and he was pissed that she walked in while he was sleeping. Those stupid knots in his stomach were coming back and he didn't know what was causing them, which pissed him off more.

"That doesn't matter do you know that you get really touchy when you sleep?" He gave her an astonished look. Of course he knew that. He had been sleeping for over 800 years. You don't live that long without learning a few things about yourself. If he ever bedded a woman he made sure to leave before the morning came, specifically because he knew that she would get the wrong idea if he actually slept. But then he had to wonder something.

"How do you know that?"

"You grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the couch with you. I was so freaked out I thought you were going to bite me. You started nuzzling my neck and wouldn't let me go."Her face showed genuine fear, and he instantly felt different. It wasn't anger, but something else. Sure, lately he had been seeing her a little differently. After all, she was growing up into a fine looking woman. He may be 800 years old, but his mentality was still somewhat that of a sixteen year old boy, and because of that the urge to make her his in more ways than one came into mind.

"Why are you here Alexandra?" She crossed her arms with a 'hmpf' and continued to glare at him. It reminded him so much of when she was a child that he remembered something. She still was a child. Fifteen years isn't a long life to live. Even for humnas, fifteen years is still so young, and he was having such thoughts about her.

"I came to ask if you wanted to hang out. My plans for the day got cancelled and since I know how you and I haven't talked much over the past couple of years, and especially the past six months, I thought it would be good for us." When she said 'couple of years', she was really starting to realize just how short that amount of time had felt. She's fifteen, and soon she'll be sixteen. She spent three of her eight years avoiding him for something he didn't even realize he was doing wrong. She wanted to try and go back to the way things used to be. At least a little bit.

"What did you have in mind?" She smirked.

"Let's play a game. Hide and seek to be exact." He didn't like where this was going. "If you find me within the given amount of time, you get your hat back." His hand flew to his head only to find that his hat wasn't where he'd left it. That sly little fox. "If you can't find me within the time given, I have permission to burn this hat. Do we have a deal?"

He glared at her for a long while. She knew this house upside down and inside out. She knew every knook and cranny like the back of her hand. But he was a vampire, so maybe he stood a shot at beating her.

"Fine. I agree. How long do I have to count?"

"Five minutes. I won't move from my hiding spot, and this room is off limits. You have one hour to find me. Agreed?" He nodded. "Alright then, Lord Zelman. Catch me if you can!" She took off and Zelman glared at the clock. It's not that he had any sort of serious attatchment to the hat, he just preffered wearing it. It was something he'd worn since he came to the special zone, and she had already spoke of how much she hated it, but he never thought she'd go so far as to burn it. But this game wasn't about the hat. This game was about beating Alexandra at what she did best.

One minute left. Soon, the real fun would start. Besides, even if he lost, he had no intentions of just letting her keep his hat. It was his, just like she was.

Finally, it was time.

Let the games begin.


	5. Chapter 5

He would never admit it. He would never tell her the truth. There was no way he was going to hear her say it. He would never admit that she was challenging him. He was never going to admit to her that she was winning, and he was never going to say that she won, even if she did.

The end of his hour was approaching swiftly and he couldn't find her anywhere. He had five more minutes, and he didn't see himself finding her in that time. He was screwed.

"Alexandra," he called down the hallways. He was met by no response. Worse yet, any of his men that he ran into was sworn into secrecy, and not wanting to get too serious with this game, he let them off, but he wanted to find her more than he was willing to let on. She was sneaky, and that was her strength. She was good at moving around unnoticed, and in this game she had the upper hand. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying.

"Alexandra, I'll by you ice cream if you come out." Still nothing. If that wasn't going to work then nothing will. She wasn't going to just pop out of no where. "Dammit."

Finally, the hour was over, and he had lost hope. His hat was gone. He had lost fair and square, and it pissed him off. Damn that girl for besting him. She had won. A red blood had beat him; _him! _The Crimson-Eyed Butcher lost to a red blood. How humiliating. He turned on his heel and left the hallway and went down the stairs to his room, where he'd wait for her to come and brag that she had won.

Then it hit him. The one place he didn't think to look because it was the one place she had never been in. His room. She was in his room. He sprinted through the halls at lightening speed and navigated his way to the room that held the girl. With great haste he threw open the door, and saw her standing in front of the fire place, poking at the wood that was still burning.

"Oh hey there," she winked with a sly grin on her face. "Fancy meeting you here."

He growled. "I would have thought it was understood that my room was off limits. You've never been here before."

She laughed at that. It was a maniacal laugh. Had he not been the one being laughed at he would have commended her for such a laugh. Surely if she were a black blood that laugh would have struck fear in the hearts of many.

"It was not in the rules, Zelman. You agreed after all." She was something else, that's for sure. "That stupid hat of yours is no more, and words cannot express how happy I am."

He grinned.

"You are aware I can buy a new one, correct?" All of the amusement left her face. Obviously she had not thought of that possibility. Anger filled her as she stood in front of him in defience.

"No way, that's not allowed!"

"It wasn't one of the rules."

She hated it when he outsmarted her. In a fit of rage she leapt into the air, effectively knocking him over. He had not expected such an outburst. Sure, when she was younger this was a common occurence, and he had thought she was over it, but apparently not. She was about to hit him when he flipped them over so he was on top. He had her hands pinned and his legs between hers to avoid getting kicked.

"Here I thought you were over such actions." He smirked as she glared at him.

"Oh, bite me!" She didn't realize the repercussions of her words. She constantly forgot that he was a vampire because it was just never brought up. The whole subject was taboo and they avoided if at all possible. Even when she was younger she avoided asking any questions about him or what he was.

"Would you like me to?" He leaned in close and his breath brushed her neck lightly, causing her to squirm. She'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it. After 'the talk' she started to feel things she had never felt before, and some of them had centered around the red head on top of her and those sharp canines of his, but that didn't mean she wanted to get bit. Everyone was turned on by certain actions, and her weak spot happened to be her neck; how ironic.

"You should stop." Her voice was airy as she had trouble finding the words. She didn't want him to stop, but this was still wrong. She did want to experience some of these things, but if he did this, it wouldn't mean anything. That was the thing that struck her the most. Everything he did didn't mean anything. She wanted things like this to mean something.

"But I don't want to." His lips started grazing her neck as well and left feathery kisses. She was trying to get away but she was started to realize that her actions stirred him on more. Just as she was sure he was going to follow through, they heard a knock on the door.

"Lord Zelman," Sayuka said as she began to turn the door knob. In the blink of an eye Zelman had not only gotten off of her but pulled her up so that she was standing next to him. To anyone else it probably looked like they were having a normal conversation.

"What is it, Sayuka?" His voice changed in the way that it does whenever he was talking to other people. Alexandra had noticed it when he first hired the woman, and she continued to notice it as he talked to anyone that wasn't her. It made her feel a little bit special that he was so different around her, but it made her wonder why. She would never ask though, knowing that he would never give a straight answer; not that he ever did.

"Forgive me for interupting, but Sei has requested you." Zelman nodded.

"I'll be back later, Alexandra." He was about to walk out of the room when his assistants voice stopped him.

"Actually, he requested both of you."

.

Alexandra had never met Sei, or Lord Dragon as some had called him. Nor had she met Cain Warlock, or anyone else of importance for that matter. She hung around the company a lot but never with any high end people. She didn't do it on purpose, but generally to be around them you had to schedule an appoitment, and she never saw the need to. This whole experience freaked her out.

They made their way into the building and saw Sei sitting in his chair, along with Cain and other members of the council she had heard about. She was intimidated by them to say the least. Even with Zelman here she felt uncomfortable.

"Welcome, Miss Alexandra Clock. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Sei was the first to speak, and it made her jump. She was obviously very nervous, and she really didn't want to be here.

"Thank you, Sei." She bowed. She may have been raised by Zelman but she knew manners. Zelman had made sure she understood those at the very least. He didn't tolerate any disrespect.

"We've heard stories about you." Jinnai commented. He made it sound like a joke, but she could tell already that he wasn't particularly fond of her. She could already guess why, but she didn't want to instigate further.

"Likewise," was her only response. She didn't want to talk too much. Zelman chose now to speak, making her jump. She forgot he was there.

"Was there something you needed?" She noticed Cain scowl at Zelman's attitude, but no one else seemed to care how he spoke. She could only assume that this was normal behavior for the ancient vampire.

"Yes," spoke Cain. "It seems that Miss Alexandra here has been training with some of the men from the supression team." Alexandra went stiff as a board. "The men seem to think very highly of her." Zelman glance at the blonde before him. "She apparently has better aim than some of the best shots on the team, and has no trouble keeping up when she joins some of their drills." Alexandra didn't dare look at Zelman, for she was too scared of how he might look. "They have requested that she is trained properly to join the forces."

"What's that?" Zelman didn't even bother hiding the shock in his voice.

"I beg your pardon?" Alexandra sounded just as shocked as he was, if not more so.

"The choice is entirely up to you, Miss Alexandra. We will not force you into anything." Sei's voice was calming, but it still didn't ease the girls tension. She was freaking out. This was not what she wanted out of the training, and it sure as hell wasn't the way she wanted Zelman to find out.

"Do I have a say?"

Everyone looked at the crimson eyed man as he ground out his response. He was not happy, and Alexandra was scared now. She wasn't sure what she wanted, but was very sure that Zelman would not allow it. If he could help it, he would keep her home where he could watch her and keep her safe, not send her out to go fight vampires with nothing but those guns that red bloods hid behind.

"What is the problem, Zelman?" Jinnai seemed to be just as upset about this decision but obviously his say was not what mattered in the situation.

"She's too young." Zelman would be dammed if he said he was worried. He could hide behind the statement that he never outwardly admitted it, but it was painfully obvious from the beginning.

"Most start their training around the age of fifteen."

"She's a woman." Alexandra felt her eye twitch.

"So what, Zelman? How does that change anything?" Alexandra was a little pissed off at his comment. No, more than pissed: offended. "Don't you rely on women to provide you with that thing you need to live? Wasn't it a woman that pushed you out of her body and brought you into this world? Let's not forget that busty assistant of yours that you rely on for reports."

"Yes that may be true but none of those are things that you do or have done and none of those are half as dangerous as fighting a black blood with a gun loaded with silver. That only gets you so far." She was pissed now.

"You don't control me, so why can't I do this?"

"Because of the Kowloon children. Have you already forgotten the creatures that destroyed your home?" They felt an immense power crash down on them, causing Alexandra to feel light headed. Zelman gritted his teeth as he looked at Sei, who wore and angered expression.

"Zelman, control yourself. This is not your decision." Around then is when Alexandra couldn't herself up any long and fell into Zelman's arms. Zelman didn't appreciate seeing her like this, and his face softened slightly as he looked at her helpless form. She gripped fruitlessly at his sleeves trying to pull herself up. She had never experienced such a pressure and it was overpowering.

"Please, stop." Zelman's voice was low, and the only one who heard it was Sei, who instantly relented his aussult. His face softened as well looking at the girl Zelman gripped tightly and possesively. Sei could see how Zelman felt and began to understand why he was so against Alexandra taking on this job.

"Please forgive me, Miss Alexandra." She was panting as she barely managed to balance herself. Zelman held her around the waist to keep her steady. She gave him a nod to say that she accepted his apology.

"Discuss this in private, and come back to us with you answer."


	6. Chapter 6

**Yo yo yo, chapter six. Little fun towards the end. I don't know if Zelman is out of character or what but I thought it was pretty ok. At least he's consistantly out of character if nothing else (at least I think he is). **

**Any way please review I wanna know wassup :) Enjoy**

"Didn't you hear him, Zelman? It's not your decision!" Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the house to hear. She was furious. What right did he have to tell her what to do? This had been a battle they had been going at for a while. This wasn't the only time they argued over who desided what she could and could not do, but there was never a decided vitctor.

"You are _mine_, Alexandra. Do you understand that yet?" He growled at her. "I've been saying it for years. It's about time you understood."

"Maybe I don't want to be yours, Zelman. Did you ever consider that?"

No. No he hadn't.

"Everything was great when I was a kid. Everything was ten times better. You like kids better, don't you?"

He didn't know. He never really thought about it.

"You know it would be nice to spend more time with other humans, and it would be great to do things other than just sit around. This way I have something to work for intstead of being given whatever I want. I'm _bored!_"

He never really thought about that.

"You know you did this to me. You're never happy either. I'm only around for your amusement. You want to keep me around to play with, but I get screwed. I get so bored because of you."

"When did this even start happening?" He was quiet and dead serious.

"I just wanted to learn how to shoot a gun so that I could protect myself _without _you. Then I got caught up. It was fun. So I would go and train and hang out with the-"

"That's not what I meant. When did you stop wanting to be mine?" She felt her brow twitch.

"We went over this you cocky idiot. How many times do I have to say it? When I was twelve. When I started calling Sayuka instead of you. When I realized that you were causing me to miss out on so many great things. When you stopped being good at 'owning me.'"

He just looked at her. He didn't have anything else to say. This was all so confusing. What was this tugging feeling in his chest? What was making his stomach knot up and his head spin? Why couldn't he think straight? He was getting angry now. He just couldn't understand any of this.

"Do you ever listen to me when I talk? Do you even see me as a person, Zelman? If not this is just a waste of breath and time. I'm joining with or without your consent, and I'm moving out. It's my life. I'm going to be sixteen soon. I don't want to depend on you. I want to be on my own. So accept it."

No good. This was no good. Everything they were doing was no good. He should just let her go. She was leaving any way. He couldn't just lock her in a cage. He was growing tired of this fighting anyway. And she was just growing up.

.

She was running, but no matter how hard she pumped her legs, she wasn't fast enough. No matter what she did, it wouldn't matter. It was a lost cause. He was going to catch up to her and there was nothing she could do about it. She was going to lose this race, and it would cost her her life. But she wouldn't stop running. She couldn't stop running. She had to get to him.

Then it happened. That thing that always happened when you were running from something very dangerous. She tripped.

"_Shit," _escaped her mouth as she attempted to pull herself out of the remains of her dignity and look her attacker in the eye. His dark eyes were shining with the thrill of the hunt and it scared her more than anything else ever had. He smiled, fangs jutting out of his mouth from blood lust. He raised his glimmering blade up above his head, the silver shining in the light.

She couldn't close her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to look away from the blade that was sure to pierce her skin. She stared on in fear as the blade began to descend. Then everything that happened next was a blur. Something flew in front of her, taking the blow in her place. She didn't understand until she saw the hair. The crimson colored hair.

"NO!" She screamed as she stood up and caught him as his body fell from the blade, his blood boiling. She couldn't think straight, not with his blood drenching her clothing. She held his head in her lap and looked down into his crimson eyes.

"No, god dammit no! No, no, no, no, NO! Don't go, you idiot. Don't leave me all alone. Why would you do that? No... no..."

"Alexandra," Zelman said with shocking ease. She looked at him through tear filled eyes, but everything was getting blurry and dark. Nothing was making sense, but she kept saying no, begging him not to go.

"Alexandra," he said again but she couldn't see him anymore.

"No, come back. Don't leave," she whipsered. Her voice was hoarse from the crying.

"Alexandra, I'm right here." She felt arms wrap around her, but she still couldn't see anything. Finally she snapped her eyes open. Letting them adjust to the dark, she saw the crimson hair from her dream. She pushed him away and looked him over, checking him head-to-toe making sure there was no blood. She felt over his torso making sure there was no hole through his gut.

"Alexandra," he smirked as he grabbed her hands and pushed her back on to the bed.

"I thought you were dead!" She screamed as she pushed his hands away and glared at him with tears in her eyes. Apparently those were real. He stared wide-eyed at the blonde before him. She never ceased to suprise him. Everything she did was unexpected and while it was amusing it did have some down sides. This was definately one of those times.

How was he supposed to handle this? He remembered her having nightmares when she was younger but he just let her cry through them and she'd be better when she woke up. When she got older they finally stopped so he didn't know what to make of the screams coming out of her room. When he walked in he thought she was in pain, and when she said "don't go" he was almost positive she was awake.

Then she actually woke up and he realized he was screwed.

"I was running, and someone tried to kill me but you got in front of their blade and he stabbed you and... and..." She was sobbing into her hands, remembering with scary accurecy the scene of his death. It kept replaying in her mind over and over again.

"I wouldn't die that easily." She looked up to him, tears still staining her face but at least they stopped flowing. "I doubt the only way to save you would have been sacrificing myself. There's also the fact that it would only offer you temporary protection. Once I was dead what would have stopped him from coming after you? I wouldn't have let that happen if I was that serious about protecting you."

She blinked a couple times and kept looking at him. Then she started laughing. Once again she suprised him, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing a bit to himself too. Her laugh was infectious.

"Even when you're dealing with an emotionally unstable girl you manage to pull that out of your ass. It amazes me how emotionally challenged you are." He went from from suprised to offended. What she said was true, there was no doubt about that, but to call him challenged at anything was insulting.

But looking at her laughing made him feel better, if only a little bit. He took this time to look what she was wearing to bed. He had never seen her sleep, similarly to how she never saw him. He did this on purpose, of course. He never wanted her to see him, so he never looked at her. It was a mutual thing so that she could never say "you've seen me."

She was wearing a loose white tank top that accented her lightly tanned skin nicely, and short, light pink shorts that showed off more of her flawless skin. He felt his mind shift to less decent thoughts and kicked himself in the ass for it. She caught him staring, and felt a blush creep across her face.

"Dude," she hissed. "Control your horomones. I'm suprised you still have those." He continued to look, mostly because he knew it was bothering her, but also because he was very interested in her assets. Sayuka wasn't bad, but Alexandra has long legs and a toned body overall. Her chest definately could not be ignored considering it was a nice size. Sure, they were smaller than Sayuka's, but they suited her body nicely.

"I can feel your eyes on me." Before she knew it she felt herself pinned to the bed, her hands above her head.

"There's other things I'd like to have on you." He pressed his hips to hers and leaned in next to her ear. "Or in you." She felt herself blush and her whole body felt warm. Her stomach was in knots and she her breathing became heavy and labored. "Would you like that, Alexandra?" He pushed himself between her legs and she felt the knots in her stomach tighten.

He breathed in her ear and pressed his lips to her jaw. Slowely he traced feathery kisses against her skin causing her to squirm. She saw that he wasn't wearing his hat, making he much happier. It was nice to know he still hadn't bought a new one. He kissed his way from her jaw to her mouth.

He gently pressed his lips to hers, and she felt her temperature rise. This was what she wanted. She wanted him to touch her like this, kiss her like this, be with her like this, but this was too slow. She ripped her hands free from his grip and laced her fingers in his hair and deepened the kiss. He smirked into the kiss.

He let his hands roam down her sides and landed on her hips. His right hand slid underneath her and pinched her ass, causing her to gasp. He took advantage of the oppotunity and let his tongue enter her mouth. He was used to submission, but of course she wasn't submissive type. She battled with her tongue, trying to dominate the situation, which amused him to no end. She was a fiesty one.

He broke away from the kiss and made him way to her neck. He felt his fangs grow long with anticipation of the bite, and felt her body give in as well. She was ready, and he couldn't wait. Her blood had been calling to him since he had first met her. She smelt so sweet and irresistable, but to drink from a child? That was low, even for him.

But she wasn't a child anymore.

He opened his mouth wide and let his fangs grow more before sinking his teeth into her delectable skin. Her eyes popped open in shock, and she felt a feeling she had never experienced before. It was euphoric, and she wanted more. While she tried to hold in screams and moans of pleasure, she found it too hard to resist. She arched her back into him and let out the voice that was trying so hard to be free.

He loved that sound, and he especially loved that he was making it happen. Her blood tasted amazing, and he had to watch himself to make sure he didn't drain her dry. Everything about this was perfect. When he was done he pulled out his teeth and licked the marks he left. She was still gasping and moaning lightly from the feeling. She was left in a state of bliss. She let her hands fall limply out his hair and rest on the bed.

"Satisfied?" He whispered into her ear while nibbling on it lightly. She laughed lightly.

"It was alright."


	7. Chapter 7

The first thing she was aware of was how hot she felt. Everything everything around her felt suffocating and uncomfortable. She felt a layer of sweat coat her body. She also felt the blankets twisted around her small frame and an arm around her waste. She was very confused as to why the limb was wound around her waste so possesively, but she realized why she was so hot. It was the body behind radiating off more heat than she thought was natural.

Why was there another body in her bed? What happened last night? Her eyes shot open and saw that it was still dark in her room, which made her think it was still night. She moved her head around trying to figure out what was up. Her curtains were closed, which was odd because when she fell asleep they were open. She also noticed that where her alarm clock once rested was now melted plastic and the table it had rested on was burnt.

She just shook it off and continued to look around, noticing her clothes were still on making her happy. She was seriously worried that she was... wait.. She looked back at the night stand. _There is only one person who could have done that._ And just like that, all of the events from last night came flooding back into her. From the nightmare that shook her to the core, to the bite that made her more excited than it should.

That would also explain why she was so hot. He radiated heat like a furnace except sexier. _I did NOT just think that. _This was bad. She tried to wiggle her way out of his grip but that only served to make her more uncomfortable and made him tighten his grip.

"Well shit," she mumbled to herself.

"I heard that." His breath on her ear brought back more memories that made her blush harder. "Very unladylike language." He nuzzled her neck and she shiverred.

"Why are you still here?" She felt his hand move in circles around her stomach.

"I didn't feel like leaving, but you fell asleep before we could have more fun." He chuckled into her neck and began nipping at it.

"Zelman you need to get out." He didn't stop. "No really, you need to leave. I need to go talk to Sei and Jinnai." Zelman stopped dead in his tracks. "And what time is it? You destroyed my clock, which I'm not happy about by the way." He chuckled.

"It was disturbing my sleep and it was going to wake you up too." Her eyes widened. She sat up (with much effort) and looked down at him. _When did he take his shirt off? _Unfortunately he caught her staring and gave her a smirk.

"I need to do stuff today Zelman. I have to talk to Sei I have to figure out where I'm going to live I have to pack everything. Zelman, what time is it? I know you have a scary accurate internal clock." He sighed and glared at her then looked away.

"It's around 12:20." Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Zelman Clock! I am so behind schedule for my day." She climbed out of the bed and began rummaging through her closet looking for her suitcase. "And why are my curtains closed? That's my back up for my alarm clock." She found her bag and threw it into the middle of the room and made her way to her dresser to get clothes.

"I know it is but it was bothering me." He was speaking into the pillow as he snuggled with it as her replacement. He would almost be cute if it weren't for how pissed she was at him. She considered wearing a silver necklace to make sure he would keep his distance. She threw clothes into her suitcase quickly trying desperately to get everything done today like she had planned.

Throught this whole process, Zelman watched her with interest. He saw his mark on her neck and felt a small twang of satisfaction. Whoever saw that would know she was taken and would stay away. Wait, taken? How taken did he mean? He didn't want to think about it. Not even a little bit. So he dropped it.

What he did know was that he didn't want her to keep packing. He didn't want her to go get her own house. She was only fifteen about to be sixteen... Wait, what's today? It's August, but what was the exact date? When you get to be as old as he is you tend to lose track of such minor things like days. He wracked his brain for the date, gripping fruitlessly at any memory that may help him out, only to realize that none of them would.

There was no way he was going to ask her. There had to be a way to fix this without seeming suspicious, but he already knew the time, so checking her phone would be conspicuous. He cursed in his mind as he tried to figure it out. This could be very bad. Of all (almost) nine years they were together he never once forget her birthday. He didn't even know what to get her. He prayed to god that it was early august because her birthday was the twenty-eighth.

He glanced around the room and saw a calander hanging on the wall with days passed marked with Xs. His eyes widened. It was August twenty-seventh. He pushed the pillow away and hopped out of the bed and exited the room, not even bothering with a shirt. This was bad. How could this have slipped his notice until now?

As he made his way down the hall he ran into Sayuka, who gave him a shocked look. "Lord Zelman?"

"Sayuka, I request your assistance." She nodded eagerly. "Today is the twenty-seventh, correct?" She nodded. "I need to get her a present."

Sayuka wasn't going to mention how slightly offended she was that he always managed to remember that little girl's birthday, but never remembered hers. She worked so hard and always stayed loyal to him, so why did he never even acknowledge her when _her _special day came along?

"Is there something you need me to get?" Her voice was laced with venom, and that didn't excape his notice but he was used to it. She was very jealous of Alexandra and he just chose to ignore it. As long as things never got too far he really could care less. Besides he had to concentrate on this task.

"I need something. I don't know what yet." He scratched his head in thought.

"Well, what have you gotten her in the past?" He was about to answer when he realized how... attached that would sound. This whole thing sounded attached. He was asking Sayuka for help. He did remember everything he got her in years past.

Eighth Birthday: A stuffed dog that she still had and kept in the bed with her, as he learned last night. It was missing the plastic nose but she still held onto it like it was one of her most prized possesion. She named it Coal because it was black, and she used to carry it with her everywhere.

Ninth Birthday: A gold ring with a little Saphire stone framed by diamonds. She wore it every day until it got too small. Around that time he got her a gold chain. She still wore it fairly often. She even wore it last night.

Tenth Birthday: She for some reason was very interested in supernatural beings such as dragons, elves, werewolves, and of course vampires. He blamed it on how many books she read, but really she had gained an interest in him. So what he did was get her a little paper weight with a dragon in the center. She kept it on her dresser.

Eleventh Birthday: A sketch pad and charcoal. He noticed her interst in the hobby when he would find that his pens would go missing. It cofused him, seeing as he never used them. It didn't take him long to realize the only way he could be losing them would be his little friend that he barely saw anymore because she locked herself in the room. When he walked in on her one day, he saw her walls graffitied with different images. Some supernatural, some of nature, some of him, and some of random people. She was obviously interested in this, so he would let her indulge in a way that wouldn't totally mess up her room.

Twelfth Birthday:When he made her get her hair cut she had moped around for a while. To make her feel better he bought her a hair pin that had a blue and silver design. It was shaped like a flower and she wore it whenever she tried to look nice. She looked cute with it in and everyone around her said so as well. Everyone except for Zelman, of course.

Thirteenth Birthday:She had found herself a little too interested in Zelman's powers and would ask him to show it off a little too often. He was so thoroughly annoyed that he found a way for her to amuse herself with fire without him getting involved. He bought her a lighter. Of course he was starting to see the problem with this little act when she started to have little burns all along her arms and legs. Needles to say he confiscated it after the first week and a half. Yes, she managed enough damage for him to confiscate it after only a week and a half.

Fourteenth Birthday:They had been having trouble speaking to eachother, so whenever they managed to be in the house and awake together, they would try to find games to play. After all, talk was too boring for both of them. A game she had taken a particular liking to was chess. It was fun for both of them because it tested their wit. At first Zelman always came out on top, what with 800 years under his belt. Eventually she would at least pose a small challenge to the older vampire, but it was still a pretty easy win. Because of this, he got her a glass chess set. They still played sometimes.

Fifteenth Birthday: He didn't know what to get her. They hadn't talked very much and more or less tried to avoid eachother. At least she tried to avoid him. He had no idea what to do, so he did what any other hopeless man would have done and went to the company to ask if she mentioned anything. Most of them were extrememly suprised to see him there, and beyond that they were attracted to him. Finally after much nonsense and a small strain on his self control, he finally wiggled out the information he desired. She wanted a cute little white sundress. It was nothing special but it cost money and she didn't have it. So after getting her size he went and bought it and asked Sayuka to wrap it, seeing as he didn't really know how nor did he care to learn.

Now it was finally her sixteenth birthday and here he was asking Sayuka what to get her. He felt totally and completely hopeless. Again. She was still a bit a challenge to him. She used to be much simpler, but now everything she did drove him crazy in more ways than one. She would piss him off by doing things like leaving and she would drive him up a wall when she walked around in her shorts and tank top with her growing assets showing nicely. She would avoid him to piss him off then occasionally come around and remind him why he tolerated her.

And here he was scrambling to get a present. How far has he fallen, being attatched to a red blood? He ran his tongue along his fangs, just making sure they hadn't dulled. He was starting to realize how pathetic he really was when it came to that girl. She was the one thing he couldn't control.

It drove him crazy, but on that same note it was quite entertaining.

.

Alexandra sighed as she stood in front of the doors that led to the meeting room where she will tell them her decision. She opened the door and walked in. They looked at her with expectant eyes.

"I want to join." She said firmly. They nodded. After that original statement, she found the rest of the conversation was much easier. She firgured out where she was going to live and how much she was going to make and when her 'official training' would begining. The whole thing was very exciting to her.

But even so, she felt a slight pang of hurt in her chest. She wasn't like Zelman, she had feelings, and she was feeling them now. She all of a sudden didn't want to leave him. But this was good for her and for him. This was all for the better.

Right?

**Wonder what he'll get her. To be honest I have an idea but I'm not entirely positive so if you have an idea lemme know, ya? To be honest this was the most I've ever gotten into a story but I'm too lazy to reread everything I write so forgive all of the errors you see. I know they're their and they may take away from the story but I'm lazy.**

**Please forgive and review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a reminder that I don't reread this. If I don't get it done quickly I won't finish the story and I already have an idea as to where this is going to go so please bare with the spelling errors, kay? **

**Otherwise I hope you're enjoying it :3**

**Review!**

"You're living _here_?" She sent a glare his way as she threw her bag onto the couch. Zelman was kind enough to carry the actual suit case (really he just wanted to know where she was going to live and she knew it) but the other bag she had was only slightly less heavy. She looked around, taking in her knew home.

"Hey if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all."

"I never have anything nice to say." This wasn't exactly far from the truth.

"Then maybe you should stop talking." Her brow was twitching. She was starting to wish she had just carried the damn suitcase herself. This guy was so annoying. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? He was such a pain in the ass.

"You and I both know that's impossible. So where do you want this?" He motioned for the suitcase he was carrying with ease. She sighed and took a look around. The whole place was rather small but she liked it. The walls were white and there was a counter that seperated the kitchen from the living room. The couches she had were an icky green color and she was sort of wondering whether or not it may have been white or yellow originally. There was a hall right next to the door on their right that led to the bedroom, closet and bathroom. She like it here. It was cozy. She pointed to the bedroom at the end of the hall and he followed without any hesitation.

He dropped her bag without much regard for what she might have in it, and at that moment she was glad she was carrying the glass chess set. He gave the room a look with a critical eye. He wasn't very happy about this; not even in the slightest. But she was happy. She wasn't happy despite the fact that she was leaving him, she was happy _because _of the fact that she was leaving him.

"I'm going to paint it." He glanced at her. "I can't wait. I'm glad the walls are all white. It'll make it easier. I don't know entirely what I want to paint it, but I want it to have a theme. I bet it'll look kool when I'm done if I do it right. It's going to be a big project. You wanna help?"

Hearing how happy she sounded made him want to be happy too. He wanted to help her make this place look like she wanted it to. He wanted to do whatever it took to get her what she wanted, but he didn't want to. He wanted to say yes, but he wanted to say no. He wanted to stay apart of her life, but now he was starting to wish he was never apart of it in the beginning.

"No," he said firmly. "I have other things to do." She looked back at him and sighed.

"Then don't let me keep you." She turned him around and shooed him out of the room. She shut the door behind him and locked it. She hated him sometimes. She hated how he didn't get it. He didn't understand anything and she hated it. No matter how hard she tried, or how sure she was that he was finally improving, he would just show that he was the same heartless bastard he had always been.

Even when she was younger he wasn't especially good and acting like he cared. In fact, he didn't even bother. He took care of her, and played along but she really was only an item to him. She was an expensive item that he wanted to take good care of, but only an item. He had even pushed the envelope further last night. He kept trying to get closer and closer to her, but not in the way that she wanted and she was becoming so desperate for his attention that she was losing sight of her own morals. This wasn't fair to her, but he didn't care. Something told her he wasn't even aware of it either.

On the other side of the door Zelman was looking at the box he held in his hand. What was he supposed to do? In hind sight, he was realizing that what he said may not have been the best of things, but he was getting so frustrated being around her that he decided it just wasn't worth the effort.

He took the box to the kitchen and left it there. She'd find it eventually.

.

Zelman had been excessively bitter this past week. He and Alexandra hadn't talked once since she had left. He didn't know why and it pissed him off, but Sayuka knew why. Her officially training started the day right after her birthday. Knowing how the system worked, she would be too busy to do anything for the next month. She wanted to tell Zelman and make sure he didn't lose it, like she constantly feared he would, but she also wanted Zelman to come to the understanding that Alexandra was really nothing special, or at least that he could manage just fine without her.

It was a saturday and Sayuka was doing her normal rounds. It was around this time that Sayuka got a call from Jinnai.

"Hello, Miss Shirinome?" Jinnai's voice came through the speaker.

"Yes?"

"I'd just like to verify that Miss Alexandra Clock is with you or Zelman. She had not attended training today and I could not reach her on her cell phone. She also was not at her home." Sayuka felt a lump rise into her throat. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

"She isn't with us as far as I know. Is there a possibility that she went out and forgot her phone?" Sayuka was grasping at straws here. There really was a slim chance that she actually forgot her phone. Zelman had her trained to have it on her at all times, and she doubted that the girl shook the habit yet. There was also a slim chance she was willing to throw everything she was working for down the drain.

"Her cellphone was not at her apartment. She also didn't make it to yesterday's practice." Sayuka knew this was bad. She began making her way to Zelman's room. It was midday and he was probably still sleeping but he would want to know this.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" There was silence on the other end.

"I can't think of anything _you _could do." By that, he meant she was a red blood and there was a slim chance that she would actually be capable in aiding in the search. She didn't mind very much, but she still needed to offer, in the spirit of being polite.

"I see," She mumbled. "I'll inform Lord Zelman immediately. I'll call if we find anything."

"As will I." Then the line went dead. Now, how was she supposed to tell Zelman that his little brat was missing? He wasn't in the best of moods, and to make matters worse, he hadn't fed since the day she left. This wasn't going to end well no matter what she did or how she said it. Long story short, she was screwed, and not in a good way.

She made it to his room and stood before the door, the only thing keeping her from her impending doom. She raised her fist but before she had a chance to knock, the door swung open. Zelman was in his boxers, giving Sayuka a tired look. His lip pulled up into a smirk as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the room and shut the door.

He pulled her flush against his body, one hand on the small of her back the other took her hand and held it. He brought her close and lowered his mouth to her neck. He hadn't eaten much the past couple of days and he wanted nothing more than to sink his fangs into her soft flesh, but Sayuka was pushing his away with her free hand.

Sayuka normally would have no objections, but she was far too scared of death right now to be turned on. She had to tell him and then run for dear life. Before she had a chance to think through how to let him down gently, she blurted it out.

"Alexandra is missing." His whole body went rigid. His grip on her hand tightened and she began to worry that he was going to break it.

"What do you mean 'missing?'"His voice was so low and deadly that she shivered. She tried pulling away but he wouldn't take that. He pushed her against the wall with a force that knocked the wind out of her. "Sayuka?"

"Jinnai called. She isn't home and she won't answer her phone. She also hasn't shown up to training for the past two days. I don't know where she is. Do you?" He growled.

"Do I look like I know?" He left her body and went to pull on appropriate clothing. He was hissing and mumbling to himself as he tried to figure out where she may be. Where would she go? Obviously no where with someone else. Maybe her phone had been turned off? Or it died? Where could she be?

"If someone hurt her, they will suffer. I swear." Sayuka wished she had a zipper on her mouth.

"But you've hurt her." She momentarily wished she could burst into flames. Then she realized that waws a very real possibility.

"What did you say?" Sayuka really needed to keep her mouth shut. But then she realized why she said it in the first place. She thought of Zelman and even Alexandra as friends in an odd way. Maybe even friends was a bit much, but she did care enough to make sure that Zelman understood this one little detail, even if it meant she would get the short end of the stick.

"You've hurt her. Everytime you deny her something you hurt her. Everytime you say that she's yours you hurt her. You hurt the most when you spent that night with her." His eyes widened.

"How did you know about that?" She sighed.

"You weren't in your room." She sighed. "And she isn't exactly quiet." She said that with a blush adorning your cheeks.

He didn't know how to take this. He never thought of it that way. Everything he did was to protect her and keep her safe. At least, that's what he thought he was doing. He was trying to keep her here, with him, where no one could hurt her. He could protect her if she was with him. Other people couldn't possibly see her the way he saw her, right? He would never hurt her.

But really, that's what he had been doing all along, wasn't it?


	9. Chapter 9

**Hellooo, just wanted to say I kind of like this chapter. With this story I'm having problems witht he pace and transitions so if you would be so kind as to put up with those that would be great :) I know where I want to go with this story so just put up with a few things and it'll hopefully pay off in the end.**

Everything hurt. Everything hurt really badly. She couldn't feel her legs or arms. She had lost a lot of blood. How long had she been sitting here? Far too long. If someone didn't find her soon she was going to die. It's funny though, everytime she started to lose hope, all she could think was "Zelman will save me." Here she was talking about how independent she wanted to be but in the end she was still relying on him to swoop in and save the day.

_Damn, it's getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open._ This wasn't looking good for her. She didn't even remember how she got here, to be honest. She just remembered waking up to a pain akin to being burned alive. She didn't know what was causing it or it got there but she couldn't even get her voice to function properly. She woke up here, under the bridge.

She sucked in a large breath and tried to push it out of her lungs as hard as she could in hope of making a sound. Unfortunately she couldn't. It only came out as a raspy noise, and hope was fading fast. What was she going to do? Could she do anything? The only thing she could think of doing right now was waiting for someone, and if they didn't get there in time, then...

Her thoughts were getting fuzzier and fuzzier as she looked at the bottom of the bridge. By now the edges of her vision were blurring and all she could see were a few bricks. She couldn't stay like this much longer. She was out of time. She was willing to try one more time. One more try and maybe someone would hear her and help her.

With much effort she finally got out noise. Not a lot, but it was noise. Then she heard it. There were footsteps, and she had some hope. It gave her just enough to get her adrenaline pumping, and she made noise again. Anything would help, right?

"Help," she croaked. The footsteps continued. "Help," she said just a bit louder. The footsteps stopped. "Help!"

The footsteps were getting closer just as her vision was finally leaving her. She was praying that it wasn't too late. The footsteps were next to her now, and she saw a flash of red before everything went black.

.

He was hating this. Everything about this was terrible and to make things worse the sun was out and it was irritating him. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't smell her, she wasn't answering her phone, and she wasn't exactly making herself known. This was so annoying. He had already looked around most of the special zone for any sign of the blonde girl. He really needed to find her.

How he found her was a mystery to him, but he heard a sound. It was a terrible sound that made him want to hurt something or someone. He ground his teeth and followed the noise, knowing it would lead him straight to her. It made him laugh that this was the same sound that helped him find her all thos years ago when she was only seven years old. It was the sound of her crying.

He followed the noise over a bridge. Then it stopped. He didn't know where to go from there. He was hopeless at this point, until he heard a raspy sound similar to that of a dying animal. He paused and listened again.

"Help!" He found her. He ran to the edge and jumped over the end of the bridge onto the bank of the water. What he saw made him feel a couple different things. The first thing he felt was relief that she was there. The second thing he felt was fear. She was bleeding so badly that he was positive she was hanging on to life by the skin of her teeth.

Next he felt was anger, but that was only fleeting as he felt an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. He was sad. He felt like crying with both relief and pure grief. He prayed to anyone that was listening that she would be alive and breathing and that she would be okay. When he was at her side he saw her chest rise and fall in a sporatic pattern. He picked her up, and carefully began running to the hospital with her in his arms.

Once he got there, many people rushed into action upon seeing the bleeding girl. Blood had soaked her clothes and his as well, making a gruesome brought a stretcher and he placed her on it, letting them take her away. He didn't follow, mostly because he didn't want to see the extent of her injuries. He wanted to be close by though, just in case.

He sat in a chair and put his face in his hands. He had to wonder something. What if nothing the doctors did could save her? What if she was on the brink of death and the only thing that could possibly save her was his blood? Would he be willing to pass his blood line onto her? Could he? He thought about it. He thought of a nurse saying there's nothing more they can do. His immediate reaction would be to go to her.

He couldn't see what he would do past that. He couldn't tell what he would do if he were to come face to face with her dying body. Would she want to be changed and given a second chance at life? She never resented vampires, but she never really acknowledged them. To her they were the same. At least, that what he assumed she thought. They just never spoke of it. It was something that was always there but never talked about. Now he was wishing they had.

"Lord Zelman?" Zelman looked up to see a petite woman in a nurses outfit. He gave her a glance, and motioned for her to go on. "Would you like to see her now?" He flew out of his seat, and the nurse took that as a yes. She led him quickly down the hallways and opened a door, letting him enter.

She had many tubes sticking out of her body. One of which was pumping blood into her system to make up for what she lost. She had bruises and cute everywhere, and where there weren't bruises and cuts, there were bandages. She looked like absolute hell.

"Your lucky. You brought her in just in time. Had she lost even an ounce more she would have died." He nodded. "There is also something I wanted you to see. I don't know if it means anything, though. The woman walked over to the sleeping girl and pull the blankets down, showing a bandaged chest and a bare stomach. There were no cute or bruises anywhere on her stomach, but there was a mark. It was a strange tattoo that looked like something he had seen before, but he couldn't remember where.

"This isn't new," the nurse continued. "It had to have been there for years. It almost looked like a birthmark. Either way, whoever did this to her took care not to damage this mark."

It was a light brown color, just slightly darker than her skin tone but still noticable, and rested on the skin right above her belly button. He had never seen it before but he had also seen her stomach before so that might have something to do with it. He couldn't take his eyes off of the mark, wondering where he had seen it before but deciding it was something worth figuring out another time.

"Will she be ok?" The nurse pulled the blanket back up and looked at him. She was an older woman, probably in her forties. She took good care of herself, and had obviously dealt with vampire many times before, because she talked to him like she would any other person, human or otherwise.

"Yes, she'll be fine. Like I said she was lucky. We'll obviously have to keep her here for a while, and she probably won't wake up any time soon." Zelman nodded his head, still looking at Alexandra, seeing the marks that were still adorning her neck like a banner, saying to the wworld that she belonged to him.

"Forgive me for being so forward, but is she your lover?" He glanced at the nurse, who had been smart enough to take a step away before asking the question. No one had the guts to ask what she meant to him, not even himself. All he knew was that she was his, and that's all he needed to know.

But maybe she didn't see it that way. She said it when she was younger, too. She said she was nothing more than his possesion, and that it hurt her. Maybe he should take the time to assess what she was to him? That would probably make her happy, and get rid of that nagging feeling that refused to leave him alone.

"To be honest I couldn't tell you what she was even if I tried." The nurse didn't say anything, letting the subject drop, and he was glad she did. She knew her place, and he respected her for that.

He decided it was best to go home, and wait for the hospital to let him know when she was awake. He didn't want to stay in the hospital for too long and he needed some time to think. Before she came along he never had to think this much. Everything was just simple and he didn't have to do much with his life. It wasn't complicated.

Now she was making him feel things he hadn't felt in centuries and making him think that being alone wasn't such a good thing after all. Now he was possesive of something that wasn't actually an item. He didn't understand any of it but it was all starting to get clearer and clearer, but that didn't mean he was fond of it. If he hadn't met her everything would have been easier, but it also would have been far less amusing.

He fell asleep that night thinking of these things. He didn't dream, but when he woke up he had a moment of clarity. He remembered something from a long time ago. Or rather, a person from a long time ago, telling him about a bloodline in humans that could grant vampires and humans enormous amounts of powers, and all it took was two sacrifices. The one of a person from a bloodline, and another from a vampire.

The reason he was being told about this was because there was a large number of people trying to get ahold of humans of this bloodline, trying to become a god or something of equal power. The people of this bloodline were thought to have become extinct in the sixteenth century, but apparently not. Instead they were continuing on in secret from the looks of it. Or maybe the knowledge of their bloodline was lost after a few generations.

He jolted out of bed, remembering this and remembering what she had told him a long time ago about her parents.

_"They kept talking all about how they were special or something. They once said that one day they were going to be big and powerful, but they never exlained how."_

That would explain why they wanted to stay in the city during the crusade. They wanted to find a vampire to sacrifice, but when they realized they were in way over their heads, they attempted to flee and wait for another opportunity. He had to wonder how they got ahold of Alexandra, though. She obviously wasn't native to Hong Kong, and they obviously weren't their biological parents. How had they come across her?

As he thought of all this he began pacing his room, thinking of all the possibilites. Maybe that was why she had been kidnapped as well. Someone knew of her bloodline and was trying touse it to their advantage, but why had they left her alive? If they needed a sacrifice she should be.. He wasn't going to think about it. Maybe there was more to this ritual than just sacrificing. Maybe that's why they stayed away from her mark. Or maybe they couldn't hurt her mark? Maybe it just healed faster than the rest of her body could. Either way, her blood line and that mark had something to do with this.

There was a knock on the door and he opened it. Sayuka stood there, looking a bit tired. It was nearing midnight, and she was probably exhausted.

"Lord Zelman, the hospital called and said Alexandra woke up. You can go visit her tomorrow between 8am and 10pm tomorrow. He nodded, and gave her a small smirk.

"Go to bed, Sayuka. You've had a long day." She needed and left him to go to her own room, the whole way he was watching her. She really was a good girl, so pure and innocent, and so addicted to his touch. Maybe he would reward her for her efforts sometime tomorrow before he went to go see Alexandra. Then again, maybe not. He would have to wait and see how he felt when the time came.

Other than Alexandra, Sayuka was the only other person he would trust with his bloodline if the time ever came. She was loyal and dependable. It wouldn't be too bad, no matter which he picked, but he would deal with that when the time came. For now he needed to rest so that he could go check on Alexandra tomorrow.


	10. Chapter 10

**100 years ago**

**Location Unknown**

A bell dinged as he walking into the shop, as it did whenever he came in. His red hair was flowing in the cold winter wind, but it didn't affect him. To be honest, the heavy coat he was wearing was unnecessary, but he wore it anyway to at least resemble humans. He made his way to the desk, shedding the cumbersome coat in the process and throwing it on the coat rack.

A short man with a gray beard and unruly hair wobbled out of the back room at the sound of the ding, knowing who would be walking through his door in weather like this.

"Zelman Clock! How nice to see you." The short man hopped onto a stool behind the counter in hopes of seeing Zelman eye to eye, which wasn't very hard. Zelman wasn't that tall to begin with. "So, what can I do for ya?"

"What you always do, Roy." Why did he always ask when he already knew the answer? Zelman wanted information, and nothing else. He wasn't apart of any gossip circle, and needed someone to keep him up with everything going on in the world, and in this placce he chose Roy, a little old man with a rundown shop at the edge of town he somehow knew what was going on without being a welcomed member of the town.

"Anything specific you wanna know?"Zelman sighed and leaned against the counter.

"Is there something specific you had in mind?" Roy nodded, reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with a mark on it. Zelman was unfamiliar with this mark, but nodded to urge the man to continue.

"This mark had caused quite an uproar in Western Europe. People are going from all over just to get to the United Kingdom." Zelman nodded, studying the mark.

"This mark means that someone carries the bloodline." Zelman looked up at that. He had never heard of a bloodline that left a mark. Especially not one like this. The shape was basic yet strange, and it unnerved him a bit.

"What bloodline?" Roy smiled big, showing his rotting teeth.

"The Bloodline of the Goddess, Tara." Zelman had never heard of such a bloodline. Surely he would have by now? It must be an ancient bloodline to have derived from a goddess.

"I see your confusion. Let me explain what I know." He hopped off of the stool and grabbed a book. "There have been sightings of this mark before this. It is an ancient mark that Tara used to mark her children. However, her children are few and far between. Even more than that, her children are human."

That shocked the red head. If they were human how did they have a bloodline?

"She believed that humans were the only ones who could handle such a job. She blessed them with supernatural powers, and left her mark to differentiate between humans and her own. The job she had given them was to cleanse the soul of those who are lost. After a war she had died, but her bloodline continued through the humans. Her children had children of their own, and were born with the mark somewhere on their body.

"Her children were far from immortal, but they could live far longer than any normal human, though how long has still yet to be seen. They however have lost sight of their mission given to them by the goddess, and have lived among humans relatively peacefully, until now. Some one discovered that through a ritual, they could be granted enormous power. All it takes is the sacrifice of a vampire and a human of Tara's bloodline."

Zelman took a moment to process this. This was the most exciting any news from Roy had ever been. It was definately interesting to say the least. A human with a goddesses blood coursing through their veins. People must be killing them off left and right. Sooner or later there would be none left, and he was guessing it would be soon they would all die out.

"Does the person need to be human?" Roy shook his head, smile still intact.

"No. Vampire or human, this ritual works on both. I don't know too much more about it, but I do know that there is another way to find someone of the bloodline."

"Oh?"

"Yes, yes, it's quite interesting is it not? No one had even known of this until recently. I personally had to look up a large amount of information in order to know as much as I do. This book has been in storage as long as I've owned this shop, which is a long time. This book speaks of many different bloodlines, including your own."

Zelman's eyes narrowed at that. What went on with his bloodline was his own business, not this little man's. He wasn't fond of their being information on the topic, but this man was proving useful, so he would let it slide for now.

"You see, Tara knew that finding those lost souls, and so she gave their blood a little perk. Some were designed for humans, others for vampires. Either way, they needed something to attract one or the other depending on what they were given. If one was destined to find a human, they are given beauty beyond compare to attract the lost soul. If they are meant to attract a vampire, their blood sings."

"Sings? What do you mean by it sings?" Roy laughed to himself. Apparently he was finding this whole situation hilarious in some way.

"Yes, it sings. Whatever will draw the lost soul to them is what it will project in hopes of luring them into cleansing. Most don't even know they're cleansing until the soul has been restored. It's marvelous really. Not only that, but it says their blood is delicious. Even he blood of nonvirgins tastes excuisite. This isn't in the book, but I think the descendants of Tara's bloodline cannot die until they cleanse who they are meant to cleanse. Then they're like any other human. That's what I think."

Zelman nodded his head. How interesting, that they are such people in the world, and they are attempting to lead those that are lost into the light. Perhaps he would have the honor of meeting one. Maybe his soul is one that needs cleansing. Even so, he could not imagine these people being immortal for the sake of a lost soul. It was a thought that he found hard to believe, but he didn't know much about the topic.

"Is that all, Roy?" Roy nodded and stuck out his hand, waiting for payment. Zelman pulled a small sack out of his bag and placed in the man's hand. Roy dumped the currency onto the counter and counted it, making sure it was all there. Zelman grabbed his coat, turned and began to leave before Roy's voice made him pause.

"Are you going to look for Tara's bloodline?" Zelman smirked, showing his fangs.

"I don't need the help of some human to be powerful." With that he walked out of the shop and into the cold winter air. He was still smirking, fangs elongated at the thought of power. He didn't need the help of Tara's bloodline to be powerful because he was strong enough on his own. His own bloodline was all he needed to be strong.

**Hey, this is just a little story I wanted to tell. Not super long or good but it helps in a sense to understand where I'm going with this. Also, the Goddess Tara is someone I found on google. I looked up Asura and found the goddess of healing from the same religion (at least I hope) so don't quote me on any of this. This was all something I found and worked with if there are any corrections feel free to review or message me. This isn't all relyable info like I said but even if it's wrong try to over look it, please?**


	11. Chapter 11

Alexandra was used to waking up alone. Zelman would either be sleeping when she woke up or out and about wreaking havoc on those who didn't expect it, nor deserved it. She was also used to waking up in pain, considering all of the mornings after a rigorous training exercise that would leave every inch of her body aching and screaming, with or without movement.

She was shocked today to not only wake up pain free (seeing as she was brutally beaten) and not alone. She looked to her side and saw a figure slumped in a chair, obviously sleeping. Alexandra couldn't help but notice that when the woman woke up her neck was going to have some serious kinks she'll need to work out. She didn't recognize this woman, nor did she care to. All she cared about was getting out of this place and getting back home where she belonged. She hated it here already. There was too much white.

When she made an effort to move, she noticed a crucial detail. She couldn't. At least not well. Her limbs would start responding later than she would have liked, impairing her attempts at motion greatly. She hissed quietly to herself, not happy in the least that she was stuck here. Fortunately for her, the person on the chair began to move about, showing signs of waking up.

The person in the chair was very obviously a woman, seeing as she was wearing a nurse's uniform and had long black hair. The woman in the seat straightened out her neck and gave Alexandra a long look before her eyes widened in suprise. She burst out of her seat and began looking Alexandra over, much the Alexandra's chagrin. She didn't enjoy being touch by strangers. In fact, she didn't enjoy being touched at all. Growing up with Zelman made her see that touch was pointless and only served as a persuasive tool. That's how he treated it, so that's how she was going to treat it. Therefore, being touched was not one of her favorite things.

Alexandra let her finish her inspection, seeing as it was probably of importance to know the state of the clients body, but she still fidgeted. When the nurse finish she gave Alexandra another look, causing the young blond to quirk up a brow. The nurse bowed her head quickly.

"Forgive me miss, we just did not expect you to be up so soon." Said the nurse, who Alexandra was finding to be very bad at eye contact. Even when she raised her head from the bow she made an effort to look at everything else in the room. Alexandra inspected herself, making sure nothing was odd, out of place or embaressing. Everything seemed to be intact, so she blamed the nurse's personality for the weary glances.

"Miss Clock, are you human?" Alexandra was taken aback by this question. Not only by it's bluntness, but by what she was accusing her of.

"As far as I am concerned I am, unless something happened to me in my sleep?" The nurse shook her head vigorously, making Alexandra wonder how this woman managed to get this job with such poor social skills. Something told her that the nurse's normal personality was affected by the mere thought that Alexandra was not human.

"You see, Miss Clock..." The nurse seemed to be searching for the right words, while Alexandra felt herself both annoyed and flattered that on every file her last name still read 'Clock,' instead of some random name that popped into Zelman's mind. Not only did it make her feel close to him, it relieved the fear that he would stick her with a riduculous last name that she wouldn't have been fond of. On the other hand, it looks odd sharing a name with an eight hundred year old vampire.

"You're injuries are all healed. There isn't a scratch on you, and you were just brought in on the brink of death hours ago. We expected you to be asleep for at least another twenty four hours." This shocked Alexandra into silence. She had thought something like this might happen, but she thought this many years ago, when she thought all of the stories were nothing but fairytales. Of course at that time, she was under the impression that vampires didn't exist either, but that didn't aid her racing heart that threatened to beat right out of her chest and onto the floor. It couldn't be. She couldn't actually be one of those, could she?

"Oh my!" The nurse exclaimed, bringing Alexandra out of her thoughts. "I must call Sayuka to let Lord Zelman know you're awake. He was very worried about you." Alexandra scoffed. He just wanted to make sure his property wasn't damaged.

.

The next morning Zelman was cursing the sun with every fiber of his being in retaliation the the headache that was causing him to become even more irritable than he was to begin with. While this was a later time in the day (10:00-ish) for redbloods, it was rather late for him and he wasn't happy. Still, he needed to go see Alexandra and make sure she was alright and see if she knew anything about the people who attacked her. He walked into the hospital, making a beeline for the room he remembered her to be in. He went to turn the door knob when he heard a voice. Not just one voice, but more than that. If he had to guess he'd say about five men were in the room.

"C'mon Alex don't let a couple cuts and bruises slow you down!"

"Yea! Demand to be discharged and if that don't work you can just walk right out."

"You look great for someone who supposedly got the crap beaten out of them."

"Who did it?"

"We'll take care of them for you." The distinctive sound of knuckles cracking could be heard, followed by a soft giggle. That was a foreign noise to him. It wasn't a mischevious giggle, laced with the promise of an unpleasant experience. This was pure and genuine. She sounded happy that they were all there to talk to her.

She had never been so excited with him.

And did one of those guys call her Alex? Her full name is Alexandra, use it. He growled a bit to himself before completely letting go of the doorknob and letting his hand fall to his side. She never asked him to call her Alex. She never giggled like that for him. She never wanted anything to do with him, and he was starting to feel an abnormal and unadulterated feeling over take him. He gripped his shirt, for the sake of gripping somthing, and looked back at the door and what was on the other side. He could see the scene in his head. They were probably from the supression team. They probably knew more about her than he did. She probably liked them more than him.

She probably loved one of them.

Zelman turned on his heel and began walking away, vowing to talk to her later that night. He couldn't do it right now. Right now he wanted to hurt something, and he was scared that if he were in the same room as her, he might even hurt her. He cursed under his breath as he left just as quickly as he came, wondering what this feeling was bubbling up inside him. While he wanted to deny it for as long as possible, but he knew the truth deep down. He had felt it enough times before to understand.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous. He was jealous everytime she was with someone else that wasn't him. He was jelous of those men who made her happy when he couldn't. He was jealous that they called her Alex, when he still called her Alexandra. The way that man had said it made it sound so personal, but he sounded so cold and distant. He hated it.

(0.0)

Alexandra didn't know how she knew he was there, she just did. She felt him make his way to her door, stop right outside, and leave just as quickly as he came. When he left, she felt feelings wash over her that she knew weren't hers, but were his. Trying to push them to the back of her mind she continued to smile at her teamates that came to make her feel better.

They were all great guys. Takumi was the tallest and also the best shot. He had striking blue eyes and blonde hair that he spiked when he went out socially. In regards to looks over all she would rank him pretty high, seeing as he was lean and built, with strong facial features and a great smile, but to her he wasn't really interesting looking, but she liked him the most. He was easy to talk to.

Next was Akito. He liked to say he was the same height as Takumi, when he knew it wasn't the case. While Takumi was a good height of 6'2, Akito was only 6'0. He was almost as good a shot too, and almost as fast. Akito and Takumi were like brothers, and that showed in the way that Takumi was always better, and the way Akito always tried to be on the same level. Akito had black hair and hard grey eyes, contradicting his jovial personality.

Katashi was the middle guy. While as tall as Takumi, he wasn't nearly as good. Takumi was the best soldier until she came along (not that they were bitter or anything). Everyone on the team aspired to be as good as Takumi, now they had a new goal-Alexandra. She wasn't sure what his natural hair color was, seeing as he changed it ever month, but at the moment it was a bleach eyes matched Akito's in color but were much softer. In this particular group of friends, no one was awkward around him, seeing as they had been together for so long that they just didn't pay attention to the fact that he was gay.

Last were the two brothers, Yasuo and Hitoshi. They were twins, and were kind of a pain to tell apart. They were easy to mix up when they had their helmets on, but when they were off it was a lot easier. One dyed his hair different colors (right now it was a deep red), while the other had his natural light brown color. When they put their helmets on she couldn't see their hair, so she would shout out things like "Twin closest to the door." They would usually say their name, clearing things up for a little but until they started moving again and she would lose track. They had brown eyes.

They were all in their early twenties and all very protective, acting as if she was their little sister, and making her feel very loved but also just as suffocated as she had felt with Zelman, but they didn't think they could tell her what to do much like Zelman did. She wasn't going to lie, living without Zelman was not only a little boring but also a little sad. As annoyed as she was with his lack of compassion, it didn't stop her from loving him. It never did before and she was still a hormonal teenage girl, making things worse.

"Hey, Alex? What's wrong?" Alexandra snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Katashi, who was looking at her with a worried look. She tried to smile, but he wasn't buying it. She wasn't sure if it was because of his sexual orientation or what, but he was always the best at telling when something was bothering her, and he always knew when it had to do with Zelman. They all knew about her and Zelman, how he found her in Hong Kong, how he practically raised her, how he had no idea what feelings were or how to feel them, and how her own feelings' development had been stunted by spending all of her time with him. Katashi could see the look on her face and nodded.

"Hey guys," he said, interupting the boys who were talking about beating the living crap out of the guy they found guilty for hurting her. "We should get going. Alex is probably exhausted." They all gave her a glance before turning and heading to the door with a steady stream of good-byes and get-better-soons. She sighed and layed back on the bed, wondering when they'd let her out, seeing as she was healed up already.

She had to figure out what to do with Zelman. Obviously their current ways of life were going to change but she just couldn't figure out how. Now that she knew the stories she had read in her parents' books were true and to top it all off, she was one of them. She was one of that bloodline, the one that had to guide lost souls or something like that. She knew she had the same mark on her stomach but she thought her parents wrote it, making her feel important and actually wanted until it dawned on her that they were fake. Now she knew the truth, and now that she's embraced it, she knew exactly who her lost sould was and she hated it.

How was she supposed to fix Zelman?


	12. Chapter 12

"Alexandra," he whispered. She didn't respond, which shouldn't suprise him. She was asleep and from the many times Sayuka came to him complaing about how Alexandra wouldn't wake up he assumed she was a heavy sleeper. He didn't know what to do to wake her up but he needed to be quiet and it needed to be soon. It was midnight and he really shouldn't be there, seeing as visiting hours were over but he figured as long as no one knew he was there it shouldn't be that big of a deal but he didn't think of the possibility that she would be sleeping. She never slept this early.

"Alexandra, wake up we need to talk." She rolled over so that her back was facing him and he felt his eyebrow twitch. She had to be awake. She was so frustrating sometimes. He put his hand on her shoulder to roll her over. Crimson red hit an icy gray in a hard glare, making both of their eyes widen. They didn't look into eachother's eyes often. She didn't like to look into his for a serious fear of eye raid, and he always found himself staring at hers for too long when she was younger, so he made a special effort to avoid it.

Now they were staring into eachother's eyes and they each saw something interesting. She saw different emotions swirl around in his eyes, all centering around one main one; confusion. She never realized he was so confused about this. She was confused too but she never considered the idea that he may be thinking about any of this. She never thought he even cared, but maybe the reason was because it's been a while since he cared about anything or anyone. He didn't really remember how to feel.

He saw something much different. He saw something he hadn't seen in her eyes since the day he met her: fear. She had never been afraid of anything. She always faced things with out any help, and never let anything get to her. She was always so strong. Now she was frightened of something and he didn't know what. The more he looked the more scared she became, and he began to realize that she was scared of him.

"You've healed already." She nodded. "Are you going to continue training?" She nodded. "When will you be discharged?" She hesitated before speaking.

"Tomorrow after they run a couple tests to make sure I'm all healed." He nodded in understanding. She was perfectly fine, and it took a huge weight off of his shoulders. He was so scared she wouldn't be. What if she hadn't been? What would he have done? Would he have been able to save her? Would he be willing to do that to her for his own selfish reasons?

"Zelman?" He looked back at her, snapping out of his thoughts. "You broke your promise."

_"I promise, as long as you're with me, I will not let you get hurt."_

The words echoed in his head as he remembered the night nine years ago when he said that to her. She was right, he did brake that promise, and he already felt terrible enough for it it. He looked at anything but her, but she grabbed his chin and made him look at her. He found himself gazing at her eyes. He loved them, they were icy and cold right now but when she was happy they shined with joy. When she younger it was a common thing. They jumped out at people, or maybe just him.

"I'm not mad at you. I just need some time to myself. Go home and hang out with Sayuka. I'm sure she'd love some attention and you look hungry." She let go of his chin, but he didn't look away. He just kept looking at her even as she rolled to look away. She really just wanted to sleep, but he wanted to talk to her and he wasn't going to leave until he talked to her. He rolled her back around to look at him.

"We need to talk." he stopped for a second. "Better yet, let me talk." She sighed before nodding.

"I've been alive for over eight hundred years. I'm older than most everyone here and in some ways that does have its advantages. I know more and have fought more and I have abilities that others don't obviously. But in living this long I've learned a few things and one of them is that emotions aren't necessary. They become a nuisance and get in the way so I learned to supress them.

"But then I met you. I have a lot of pride and I would never even consider raising a kid. Had it been any other kid I would have just left them to die or gave them up but you were never scared of me. In fact, I don't think you liked me very much. You were really interesting so I kept you around and honestly I thought I'd get sick of you but I didn't. Then you got older, and I started to get really confused, especially after that night when you started asking for Sayuka to come pick you up instead of me.

"I've been thinking about it a lot and I've realized you are making me feel again and I don't like it but I... I still want to feel it." She kept looking at him, unnerving him to no end. He had no idea what she was thinking with such a blank stare, and then it happened. She laughed. She laughed at him. She was laughing at him!

"I... I'm sorry.. HAHA... Sentamentalism doesn't.. HA.. Suit you..."

...

The next day Zelman brought Alexandra home so she wouldn't have to walk. She was healed but she still felt very weak. She was tired and wanted to sleep for a day or two before going back to training. She was going to join the next class, seeing as she missed so much of this one and they wanted her to fully recover. She was okay with this, because she wanted to try to help Zelman, seeing as it was apparently something she was born to do.

She needed to go to the library and see if there were any books on the topic. She highly doubted it, seeing as her bloodline was thought to have died out four decades ago. Zelman probably knew something of it, seeing as he was eight hundred years old and heard a lot of things in his long life. Now that she was aware of what she had to do, a lot of interesting things were happening.

The first thing she noticed was she could always sort of sense where he was. If he was far away she could sense that. If he was right outside the door or moving around the room, she could tell. Ever since she woke up she could always tell where he was. Another thing she could sense was how he was feeling. If he was tired she noticed. If he was angry she felt the rage in her blood. If he was jelous she felt it wash over her like cold water. Because of all of these things she found herself very annoyed with the fact that she couldn't just block him out. She always felt what he felt and right now he was feeling hungry, and she was beginning to look appetizing.

She felt his arms snake around her waste and she sighed in annoyance. He took it as a sighed of contentment, and pulled her closer. It was then she realized this feeling thing only went one way. He still had no idea what she was feeling so he had no idea that right now she was not in the mood to play blood bank. He brought his mouth down to her neck but didn't touch it, letting his warm breath dance across her skin, sending chills down her spine. He brought up a hand and pulled her blonde locks out of his way. He kept a grip on her hair though and lightly pulled her head to the side to give him better access. His other hand was rubbing circles around her stomach, making her feel weaker and weaker against his actions.

She let herself lean against him, and he took that as a sign to continue. She could feel the want coming off of him in waves, making her feel it first hand. This was nothing like the first time he bit her. This was much, much stronger. She could feel averything he was feeling almost as if it was her own emotion and it made it harder and harder to resist. Everything was screaming at her to keep this going, make this contact last longer. She wanted to be touched by him, and he wanted to touch her.

He let his lips move up and down her neck, tickling her skin and making her let out a breathy giggle. She felt his lips move up to her ear. He licked the shell of it causing her to shiver. He smirked to himself.

"Would you like me to continue?" She couldn't stop herself from nodding. She wanted to feel that way again. She wanted to feel the same way she did the last night she spent in his house, where if felt so good stars danced across her vision and temporarily blinded her. She wanted to feel the euphoria that danced through her veins. She wanted this and she wasn't about to stop him, because she felt that he wanted this too.

He let go of her and picked her up bridal style and carried her to her room. He threw her onto the bed and looked her over. She was still beatiful, and was wearing an outfit that only consisted of denim shorts and a red tank top. He loved the color red, and he especially loved it on her. She was laying there, legs spread, and torso propped up by her elbows, asking with her eyes why he was taking so long. He unzipped his jacket and pulled it off along with his hat, throwing it onto the floor. He wanted to friction. He wanted to feel her skin against his so badly, and she wanted the same thing. She wanted him.

He placed himself on top of her and pressed his hips against hers, causing her to breath heavier and her heartbeat to quicken. She let her hands roam over his chest and felt all of the lean muscle she hadn't know was there until now. She felt him grab her hands and push them next to her head. He laced his fingers with hers and he smiled when he looked into her eyes. It was then that she felt something different than the raw lust. She felt his emotions change to something else.

Compassion.

It wasn't love, not by a long shot, but it was definately more than just instinct, and it made her smile right back before pressing her lips to his. She loved the way his lips moved against hers and how he always took what he wanted instead of just asking. He forced his tongue into her mouth and a small noise escaped her lips. He let go of one of her hands and brought the other one to her face, deepening the kiss.

When they parted they were both breathing heavy. She smiled when he brought his face down to her neck again. He began sucking and nipping at her neck, leaving marks no doubt as he went along. He finally got to the part where her shoulder and neck connected before he bit down roughly. Alexandra's grip on his hand tightened and she felt her vision blur from pure bliss. She didn't realize that she actually missed this feeling until she felt it again. It felt so good, and she couldn't help but press herself into him even more. She wiggled and squirmed and how good it felt, unable to keep still.

This was on a whole new level than the first time. It was better now than it was before. Zelman unlatched his teeth and licked the bite marks like he did the first time before rolling them over so that she was laying on top of him, using his chest as a pillow, her hand still attached to his. She liked that he was holding her hand, and she didn't want him to stop. She wanted to stay like this, at least for now, and she was feeling that he wanted the same thing. Maybe he wasn't a complete sociopath like he used to be, but he still had a long way to go.

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	13. Chapter 13

"Go away you've been here for twenty four hours already. Aren't you bored yet?" Alexandra was in the kitchen making herself some dinner while Zelman sat casually on the counter. He had been here since the night before and hadn't left. Waking up next to Zelman wasn't one of her favorite things but knowing that he hadn't just left her made her feel pretty good, but she was starting to think that would have been a better if he had left.

She woke up over heating and unable to move. He had her in a vice grip and showed no signs of letting her go. After some strategic wiggling and a light elbow to the gut she had managed to free herself and make it to the bathroom to take a much needed shower.

"I've been asleep for most of the time." She sent him a look.

"No, you slept this morning. You were awake the entire time I was asleep and I still don't believe you didn't do anything to me." She let out a sharp gasp as he slipped his arms around her waste, hands open and roaming over the flat plain of her stomach and creeping closer and closer to more sensual areas.

"Trust me, you wouldn't be able to sleep through the things I would do to you." She felt a huge blush creep shamelessly across her face. She hated it when he did this.

"C'mon you just fed last night aren't you satisfied?" She heard him chuckle.

"I'm never satisfied." She felt a chill run down her spine at his words before lightly elbowing to get him off.

"Listen I need to go grocery shopping and get some paint while I'm at it. I haven't had a chance to start decorating the house but now I have the time. I know you don't want to help with the decorating so do whatever you want, kay?" She took her reheated pasta out of the the microwave and went to go sit at the table. Zelman sat across from her, watching her mindlessly munch on the food.

"I'll help." Alexandra whipped her head up and gave him an incredulous look, pasta noodle dangling out of her mouth. He couldn't help but let out a light laugh. She was just too cute right now not to. She slurped up the noodles and wiped her face, before facing him again.

"Help with what? The decorating? I thought you didn't want to?" She was confused for a couple of reasons. First, he already explained his lack of interest in the subject. Second, he never wanted to help her, especially now that she had moved out. Besides, since when has the notorious Zelman Clock willing to work?

Zelman, though couldn't help but feel a little offended that she had so little faith in him. He had taken her in, hadn't he? He had done a lot of things for her so why would this be any different? Well he had sort of said that he wasn't willing to help, but since when did he stick to his guns? He'd do anything to get what he wanted, and at the time he was trying to make her rethink moving out. In hindsight, that may not have been the best way to do it but surely she could over look that, right?

...

Apparently not. She not only kicked him out but asked him nicely not to interfere with anything she was doing. She was so against him helping her with anything that it almost bothered him. He never really helped her before, but she never really wanted it. Maybe that was his fault. He never was the most supportive person and he always made it seem like if she wanted to do something nothing was stopping her from doing it herself. Not to mention that her "parents" weren't very involved in her life either, unless it was to make her feel inferior.

He didn't like thinking about her parents. The more he thought of how uncaring they must have been the more he wants to pull them from the grave and punch them. Of course, that always made him think of how uncaring he probably was to her too, which made him want to punch them even more. After all, he could never be angry at himself. He was perfect.

Or... was he?

Alexandra was roaming the halls of the store. She had already gotten what she needed from the grocery store and was now looking for paints for her house. She was staring so intensely at the bright orange in her hand that she hadn't noticed a presence sneak up behind her.

"Boo."

She nearly jumped out of her skin. She definitely wasn't expecting someone she knew to be here and she wasn't happy they snuck up on her. She twisted around and looked at someone she definitely hadn't expected to see, Rinsuke.

"Rinsuke!" She dropped her bag and gave him a huge hug. He wrapped his arms around her and let go with a big smile. He had known her since she was a kid and was the first person here that ever talked to her with some civility. Everyone hated her because she came with Zelman, but after Rinsuke started treating her like a friend so did everyone else. She was very grateful for him because of that.

"How are you darling?"

"I'm pretty good I moved out of Zelman's and into my own apartment. I'm starting the remodel so that's what I'm doing here. I need to pick a color for my living room but I can't decide..." She turned back around and faced the colors she was torn between, still debating in her head what it was she really wanted. She couldn't tell if she wanted warm colors or cool colors and whether or not she wanted it to be bright or a bit dulled down. She showed her different ideas and Rinsuke added his opinions to help the process.

"I think you're room she be as bright and colorful as you want it to be but places like the living room should give off a warm, welcoming vibe." She nodded her head at the bit of advice.

"So the living room should probably be light and soft colors, but wouldn't that be kind of boring?" He shook his head as if she should know this already.

"No, of course not. This is where your artistic flair comes in. You can't paint soft and subtle designs and it gives the room a more interesting feeling without being too loud and distracting."

Their conversation went on like that for another hour and half, ending with Alexandra buying two cans of paint and them agreeing to eventually get together for coffee before her training starts up again. She made her way back to the apartment, humming a tune quietly as she walked. She didn't get a whole lot of chances to just go out for walks and she was enjoying this moment. The sun was setting and it painted the town different shades of red, orange and yellow. She enjoyed moments like this, when she could see the sun as it descended beneath the horizon.

It was for that reason that she stopped in the park and made her way to the tallest tree. She set the cans down at the base of the trunk and backed up. The lowest branch was a little bit higher than what she could jump but she could make it if she pushed off the trunk, which is exactly what she did. From there it was pretty easy. There were a lot of branches to grab onto and it made it easy to get pretty high.

She made it to one stable branch that gave her a great view of the sun setting over the water. She liked being up high. It allowed her to see everything. It was a trait she had developed as a kid. Zelman never knew it but sometimes she would climb the trees in the backyard of the old house. He never paid too much attention to her during that time, and she almost didn't want him to. She still saw him as scary but as time went on she got more comfortable around him.

As she sat there she thought about Zelman. He had occupied her thoughts a lot lately. When she was a kid she never truly understood him, and even now she still couldn't, but back then he at least understood her. Now she was growing up, and he didn't seem to know how to handle it. She had to remember that he had probably never raised a kid before, and that he had probably never let anyone get close either. She was probably the closest person to him, and she was still, at best, an arms length away. She could push and shove but the wall that kept her out and virtually impenetrable.

But to be fair, she never let him get that close either. He didn't know much of anything going on with her life, and she was scared to start telling him. She even told Sayuka more than she had been telling Zelman because she knew he would react the way he had been. She knew more than anything that Zelman would never cope with anything like a normal person would because he was 800 years old and everyone he had ever loved or gotten close to has died. He was alone in the world, and he had become unwilling to let anyone in. He became a sociopath, and she doubted that she could change that. She also doubted that she should try.

What was Zelman to her? That was a question she always ran away from, but she was realizing she had to figure it out. Was he like family? She blushed at the memories of what he had done to her in nights past and shook her head. There was no way one would consider that sort of behavior family-like, but she didn't know how else to see him. Her boyfriend? No way. What kind of boyfriend saves your life when you're a child, then raises you, then goes on to more or less molest you whenever he gets the chance? She didn't know what to think of Zelman. What was he to her?

_Important._

She sighed before lowering herself out of the tree, grabbing her stuff and heading home. There was no getting around the fact that Zelman was important to her, and he was always going to be. She just had to accept it and hopefully move on. Maybe she could leave the special zone one day and just get away from him, and this. Everything about this place screamed unresolved tensions, and maybe if she could just get away she could forget about this place, and him as well. Maybe she could meet a nice guy and have a nice family in a nice house in a nice town and just have a nice life. She never really thought about it before, but maybe that's what she wanted, and what she needed.

_But can I really just leave Zelman behind?_ She thought to herself. By now she was at her apartment and was fishing the keys out of her purse. Upon opening the door she was met by a shocking sight. She dropped her bags, and a hand flew over her mouth. Her living room had new furniture, compatible with just about any color you could imagine painting a room. There was a white couch and a glass coffee table that sat right in front of it. Near the couch was a matching love seat and across from the couch was a flat screen TV. She walked into the kitchen and found that the old counter top was replaced by a new marble one, and that her kitchen table was also glass, with white seats pushed in around it.

Next she ran into her room and saw that she had a queen sized bed, and upon jumping on it she found that the mattress was the perfect level of softness. She cuddled up with one of the pillows and heard a crinkling noise. Looking around, she found a note taped to one of the pillows.

_Alexandra,_

_I know I haven't been the best of... What would you even call us? Let's say I haven't been the best of friends, and I know I've put you through a lot since you were a kid. So I thought I'd finally find a way to make it up to you. _

_Zelman_

__Short and to the point. Nothing unnecessary or too emotional. Yup, that was Zelman alright, but that's ok. He's trying, and that's all that mattered to her. It was more than she ever expected of him.

But if he thinks that this was enough to make it up to her for everything, then he was sorely mistaken.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey there... It's short, but it's something. I promise the next chapter will have some more bulk and some more development. I just got un-busy and I'm trying to get back to my other Fan fiction, as well as this one and potentially starting a new one. Reviews are welcome. Again, I'm sorry you waited so long for a dinky chapter. I sort of have to reintroduce myself to not only Black Blood Brothers, but also my own fan fiction.**

**Review!**

Alexandra was still in complete shock. She was staring at the item in her hand with a type a fascination that she had never felt with any item before. It fit in her had perfectly and gleamed in the limited amount of light she had in her apartment. She was so enamored with it that she forgot about poor Mimiko in the doorway. Mimiko, having held on to the item for a while in place of Alexandra, was not surprised to see the girl's fascination. It was built completely to her tastes, elegant and artistic while still a little rough around the edges.

"I can't accept this." Mimiko was taken by surprise at her words. She had not been expecting Alexandra to say anything, but what she said was also shocking as well.

"Sure you can." Mimiko urged on. "It's yours. When you went missing we searched your house and found this on your counter. They didn't think much of it and I said I'd hold on to it until you got back." Alexandra was excited, to say the least. The look of wonder changed to one of joy as she lept forward and hugged Mimiko.

"Thank you so much for bringing it back!" Her joy was hindered slightly as she never remembered seeing any box on her counter, and she wondered how on earth it had gotten there. She shook it off and thanked Mimiko one more time before shutting the door and taking the item with her. She was in the middle of painting her living room and her new toy had just given her an idea. She wanted a flowing design along the top of the walls right where it connected to the ceiling and the look of the designs on her gift were perfect.

After a few hours she heard a knock at the door. She set her paint brushes down, and made her way to the door, admiring her work with a slight smile before opening the door, and was surprised to see who was there.

"Hey, Cain. Can I help you?" He grunted in response, looking at her disheveled appearance. Her clothes were covered in paint and her hair a mess. She, not liking his judging eyes, spoke again.

"Cain? Did you need something?"

"I came to ask you a few questions." He seemed serious, as always. She never liked his no nonsense sort of behavior but it got the job done so she accepted it. He wasn't very fun to be around though.

"Go right ahead." She put her hand on her hip and waited patiently for his response.

"May I come in?" She really didn't want him in her house but figured if he had to come see her himself it must be important. She stepped aside and let him in. He made his way into the kitchen without so mush as glancing at her project, which irked her. She was proud of it and she wanted someone to compliment it. He sat down in a seat in the kitchen, and she sat on the counter across from him.

"What do you want to know?" He cleared his throat before speaking.

"From what I understand, you were abducted, beaten, and left for dead, correct?" She cringed at the coldness in his voice, as if her near-death experience was nothing to be concerned with. She nodded anyway, feeling chills run up and down her spine.

"Do you have any memory of the event?"

"No. I was in my room, then I was under a bridge, clinging to life by the skin of my teeth."

"I see." He seemed troubled by the answer, as if he expected her to remember something. Maybe he did. She was left for dead, so why would anyone bother wiping her memories? Perhaps they did not expect her to die like they had originally thought, or maybe they were taking some extra precautions in case things went wrong. Either way, they were dealing with something odd.

"Why are you questioning me? It was just an attack by some random vampires. No big deal."

"This isn't a normal attack. If they wanted you dead they could have just slit your throat then and there." She cringed again at his cold disposition. "You are alive with no memory because they wanted you to be."

That sent her right over the edge. Someone had targeted her specifically. That was the most unnerving thing she had ever heard. She was on someone's list, and she was no longer safe. She was a seventeen year old girl living on her own. There was no way she could truly defend herself from a couple of vampires that were hell bent on getting to her. She knew this, whether she wanted to admit it or not, and that scared her.

"You are a target, and need to be protected." She hardened at his words. Protected? Locked in a cage, restricted form the outside world? No, not again. She didn't want to feel like she was at the mercy of someone else ever again. The idea was unbearable. To have another control freak taking over her life was something she had fought hard to escape, and she had cared for said control freak. It would be even harder to deal with when it came to someone else...

"No. I refuse. I don't want to be locked up." Cain shook his head. He knew this would happen.

"I'll give you until tomorrow to come willingly. Please remember that this is for your own protection." With that, Cain showed himself out. Alexandra sat on the table, thinking through everything that had happened. She really was at the mercy of every vampire with more skill that the average human. Unfortunately it was now a big deal, because more than one was now trying to get at her.

"My own protection," she scoffed. "I don't want their help."

She got back to painting her walls, progressively getting more and excited that it was coming out as well as it was. Elegant lines draped the walls and formed beautiful pictures that she was proud to call her own. She added highlights and lowlights, making sure that everything popped just enough to draw attention without being too distracting.

Finally, it was done, and the thoughts of Cain and his oppressive behavior left her mind entirely. She rinsed off her brushes and proceeded to change out of her paint clothes. She was proud of her work, but she felt a pulling. She felt like something was missing. She felt like there was someone that she wanted to show, or someone's approval she was seeking. It didn't take her long to realize who that was.

Sighing heavily, she finished changing and made her way to the door, ready to go face the man with red hair, and ready to smile as she did so. She hated that it felt forced. She cared for Zelman, so why would she seem so upset about having to go see him? Maybe it was the distance that was making it hard? Or maybe it was the lack of distance for so long that made her so upset. She couldn't tell why she felt like she needed to see him, as well as why she felt she needed to get away. It was nerve wracking and difficult to think about. So while on her way to his home, she stopped thinking and just did whatever her body wanted.

It made her laugh that without even realizing it she had made a brief detour to get some ice cream.


End file.
